House Democrats filed a lawsuit to gain access to President Donald Trump's tax returns.
The House Ways and Means Committee filed the complaint Tuesday against the Treasury Department, the Internal Revenue Service, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig.
The suit seeks President Trump's personal and business tax returns from the last six years for legislative purposes. The committee says the Treasury Department and Rettig failed to hand over the files and comply with subpoenas.
Rep. Richard Neal, chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee is using a little-known tax law to make his request. The IRS provision, known as 6103, allows the certain Congressional committees to obtain tax information if it serves a legislative purpose.
But Mnuchin has argued the committee's request doesn't do that. Mnuchin sent a letter to Neal in May saying he consulting with the Justice Department on the "lawfulness" of the committee's request and determined it "lacks a legitimate legislative purpose."
The suit is just one of many efforts seeking access to the president's tax returns. The House Oversight Committee, House Intelligence Committee and House Financial Services Committee are also trying to obtain his records.
