Throughout Trump’s presidency, we have seen a myriad of controversies regarding his character and fulfillment of the role of president. One that has consistently resurfaced is the question of the publicity of his tax records. First introduced during his 2016 campaign, the question of his tax records were brought to light because he had not released them to the public, an unprecedented move. Since Richard Nixon, all Presidents and presidential candidates have released their tax records; Trump has still failed to do so, despite almost completing his first term in office. However, recent lawsuits and congressional subpoenas could finally force him to release them, showing the public a record of his finances and possibly exposing why he worked so hard to hide them in the first place.
The House Intelligence and Financial Services committee filed a subpoena in April to see Trump’s tax records over the past six years, doing so as part of their investigation into possible foreign influence in American elections (specifically, Russian interference). Trump’s lawyers have cited that there is “no legitimate or legislative purpose” in using Trump’s financial records as part of the investigation, but there is a long history of Trump officials and associates meeting and collaborating with Russian officials. Michael Cohen, Trump’s former personal lawyer, was an instigator of many of these alleged meetings, dating back to 2015 (several of the associates mentioned are currently in trial or have been indicted for crimes relating to the Russian interference investigation). In regards to the subpoena, Trump sued Capital One and Deutsche Bank to prevent them from complying with it, but multiple appeals courts supported the House’s decision to subpoena his tax records.
This past Tuesday, the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals supported a lower court’s decision to uphold the legitimacy of the House subpoena, a huge loss to Trump’s lawsuit. His lawyer and Trump himself have suggested that they are intending to appeal to the Supreme Court as part of their next possible initiative. However, it is unclear as to whether the Supreme Court will hear his case, and every appeals court has upheld the subpoena thus far. Specifically on the 2nd Circuit court, two of the three judges concurred with the lower court, while one presented a second opinion as she partially dissented. Personally, I believe that Trump has hid his tax records because of the failure of many of his businesses, and I don’t believe that there has been a foreign infiltration of the executive branch. However, his tax records could help provide evidence to exonerate him from the theory that there was collusion; if he has nothing to hide, why has he made so many vigorous attempts to stop them from being released to the public?
Questions:
- Do you believe Trump was wrong to break the precedent that every presidential nominee since Nixon had fulfilled?
- Do you believe the case will go to the Supreme Court, and be granted the writ of certiorari?
- Do you believe the House committees were justified in issuing a subpoena for Trump’s tax records?
I don’t think that Trump was wrong to break the tradition of presidents releasing their tax records to the public because it’s not like presidents are required to do it by law and they should still have some sort of privacy to their lives. Also, Trump wasn’t a conventional presidential candidate, nor is he a conventional president, so this break in tradition isn’t all that surprising. However, I do think there is legitimacy in requiring Trump to now turnover his tax records given his proximity to people indicted for crimes relating to Russian interference in the 2016 election. Although he is trying to fight the rulings of the lower courts, given that they have all ruled in favor of him having to give his tax records, I don’t think the Supreme Court will bother giving their own ruling on this issue.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Nathan that since precedents aren't laws, breaking the trend isn't something you can blame Trump for. Given that the House suspects evidence of collusion in these records, I think they're right to ask for them whether or not there's anything in there that would prove their hunch correct. As for the Supreme Court, there aren't any precedence or conflict issues here so taking this case would be a waste of a spot that a more important case could be granted cert for. Furthermore, I agree with Jennifer in that, if Trump is truly clean, what does he have to lose from hiding these returns? Nothing short of smoking gun evidence would derail him...
ReplyDeleteCompletely agree with the first 2 comments, and would just like to reiterate their points. The tradition for releasing your tax returns as president does provide transparency in the government and shows who the person is and his honesty. Despite this, I don't believe it should be frowned upon if someone would rather not, because of privacy. At this point, where Trump has been questioned by almost every part of the government, and required to release his tax records, I only believe it responsible as the President to abide. I believe everyone is already thinking this, but if he is putting everything on the line to hide his tax records, there has to be something there, might not be what we would expect, but there has to be something malicious, because if theres nothing to hide, why go through the extent he has to hide what isn't there.
ReplyDeleteI would agree with the general sentiment of everyone else, that Trump has no real requirement to publicize his tax records, it seems more of a tradition that presidents historically have done. It should not affect the public’s view of the president, however. Ultimately, it is the president’s views on policies that should play the major role. But, none of this goes without an issue. Even if the tradition is a more menial one that doesn’t really add value to a president’s stance, why wouldn’t Trump have publicized it. It is clear that he came from a wealthy background, so it wouldn’t be a shock the country if numbers were high. Potentially, there is another controversy that has been swept under the carpet with this issue. From Trump’s background, he has had a history of filing for bankruptcy several times in hopes to save money. There may be something there, with the loopholes he has jumped through to save money. But in the bigger picture, by refusing to publicize a tradition that has been followed for several administration should prompt a common theme. Trump clearly does not want to follow this theme for a very specific reason, so the question still remains, why is he hiding his tax records?
ReplyDeleteWhile I also agree that Trump is not required to publicize them, I think in the specific context the committees were justified in issuing a subpoena for Trump's tax records. Although I doubt it, it could lead to some new development in the impeachment hearings, or uncover another feature of his character.
ReplyDeleteAs others have stated, I do not believe that it is legally wrong that Trump chose to not release his tax records to the public. However, since there is a correlation between him and possible foreign influence in American elections, I also agree that it is necessary for Trump to hand his tax records over. As for whether or not this case will make it to the Supreme Court, I believe the situation might escalate to that if Trump continues to refuse to release his tax records even though the lower courts have already ruled that he must do so. I definitely agree with Jennifer as his clear reluctance indicates that perhaps he has something to hide.
ReplyDeleteTrump is not legally required to publicize his tax returns, however I believe the committee was justified in issuing a subpoena considering Trump being unconcerned about the Russian meddling in our democratic processes. I doubt it will reach the Supreme Court, but that would be nice. He’s been hiding his tax returns for quite a while, so it seems obvious that he has something to hide. I’m not going to get my hopes up about seeing them, I doubt the American public ever will. It’s interesting because it demonstrates a double standard between Republicans and Democrats, many Democratic presidential candidates have released their tax returns, (Yang, Bernie, Warren) probably because they have nothing to hide.
ReplyDeleteI mean, his party seems to love precedent and the status quo so it's a little ironic that he doesn't want to release his tax returns when his predecessors have done it before. I don't think his tax returns are one of the bigger pieces to the puzzle of impeachment but they could be valuable in providing evidence of any illegal financial activity while in office or information on the hush-money payments to Stormy Daniels. Whether he thinks it's justified or not, he has to comply with Congress. He can't reject a subpoena just because it will be a disadvantage for him. He is not above the law. In the watergate scandal, Nixon was required to turn over the tapes. I don't think this is any different. Trump refusing to turn over his tax returns makes him look like he's hiding something. If he has nothing to hide, then what's the problem with releasing them?
ReplyDeleteWhile Trump does have the right to privacy and isn’t required by law to disclose his tax returns, I believe that as the President of the United States it is his duty to set an example for the level of integrity that presidents should be expected to meet. Even if his tax returns don’t reveal any suspicious behavior, just the act of going against this tradition is sure to weaken the trust between the president and the public, posing a threat to democracy in American politics. Let’s also not forget that President Trump was one of the biggest figures in the “birther” movement calling for Obama’s birth certificate, which makes his defensive behavior all the more hypocritical now that his credentials are the ones being questioned.
ReplyDeleteI do believe that President Trump is in the wrong for not publicizing his tax records. If he truly has nothing to hide, then there is no purpose in keeping the records to himself when all other presidents have done the exact opposite. By keeping the records as his own, private information, it gives people the idea that there is something he does not want people to know...even if there is no real reason for these actions. Additionally, in terms of whether or not this case will reach the Supreme Court, I think there is a very good chance it will; however if it does if fact reach the Supreme Court, I don't think the President will receive the decision he has been hoping for as the lower courts have all upheld the subpoena. Also, as far as the House committees issuing a subpoena for Trump's tax records, I think this action was absolutely justified as evident in the details already mentioned.
ReplyDeleteI agree that Trump wasn't legally required to disclose his tax return information, yet it gave way to more suspicion since the precedent with other presidents were to give up their tax records. I think especially now with the political tension in the White House there will be more pressure for Trump to give up his tax records, which could lead to the Supreme Court granting the writ of certiorari due to the importance of this case. I also agree with Areen's statement that the House committee actions were justified when they issued a subpoena for Trump's tax records. Trump has valuable information that could contribute to the overall ruling of this case, and therefore the House committee was justified in requesting to see the tax returns.
ReplyDeleteTrump was definitely wrong to break precedent by not releasing his tax records. If the people have to follow a leader, they have to know that that leader is beholden to the same laws as them. Rule of law was crucial to the framers when they made the Constitution, and with a growing sense of distrust towards the government it is important for the president to alleviate any concerns. As far as I see it, there is a simple reason why Trump is not willing to release his tax returns: he committed tax evasion. Therefore, it was perfectly justified for the House committees to issue a subpoena for the records. However, Trump has been successful in shifting the court in his favor, and it is an inevitability that the case is granted writ of certiorari. Ultimately, I believe that it will come down to the call of Justice John Roberts, who has become the swing vote in the Supreme Court.
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree with most of what other students have said that Trump is not wrong in not disclosing his tax records, albeit it does lead to more suspicion from skeptics given it has become a norm. I think it was clear that bringing his tax records up again as a concern was a move by the House to try to impeach the President. Given that he has now been impeached, I would say it was effective. It is very probable that he will have to turn over his tax records now, which should give many of us the answers we have been looking for.
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