Is this why Congress won’t push Trump too hard on his taxes?

With the news of Michael Flynn stepping down as national security adviser over his contact with the Russian ambassador, a Democratic congressman from New Jersey is calling for extreme vetting — of President Trump’s taxes.

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“Nothing has resonated more with the American people … then the president should be giving up his taxes so we know what the hell is going on,” Rep. Bill Pascrell said.

Pascrell is hoping to use an obscure 1924 law to force the Treasury to release Mr. Trump’s tax returns. He says it is the “only way” we will ever see those tax returns.

And according to Trump’s adviser, Kellyanne Conway, Pascrell’s right.

“He’s not going to release the tax returns. We litigated this all through the election,” she said. “People didn’t care. They voted for him.”

The 1924 law was passed in response to what came to be known as the Teapot Dome Scandal, when the secretary of the interior was accused of taking bribes to sign off on cheap oil leases.

So Congress passed a law which states that the chairman of the Ways and Means Committee can submit a written request for any tax return.

If you recall the investigation three years ago when Republicans were upset with the way the IRS handled applications from conservative groups for non-profit status, this is the law they invoked back then to help with their investigation.

So, Pascrell wants to use it to see 10 years of President Trump’s returns.

But, so far, this is going nowhere. Republicans on the Ways and Means committee have voted down Pascrell’s request. Rep. Dave Reichert was among the “no” votes, while Rep. Suzan DelBene voted “yes” with the minority.

Pascrell says there’s probably a good reason Republicans don’t want anyone to see those tax returns.

“Because they’re intimidated. Because they don’t know the law. And, number three, what happens if we find out that Flynn was just the tip of the iceberg? What happens if he was the conduit? What happens if the president has vast investments in Mr. Putin’s kingdom?”

The Republican Chair of the Committee Kevin Brady of Texas dismissed the whole idea, saying that if Congress uses its powers to rummage around the returns of the president, what prevents Congress from doing the same to average Americans?

Rep. Pascrell says that’s a red herring.

“The president is not above the law!” he exclaimed.

But here’s the interesting twist — under the same law, the president can also look at anyone’s tax return. He has to have a reason, but President Trump, without needing any committee approval, can request and examine anyone’s tax returns.

Hmmm.

Maybe that’s why members of Congress don’t want to push this too far.

In any case, more than 900,000 Americans have signed a White House petition calling for President Trump to release his returns.

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