Sen. Mitt Romney on Sunday said President Trump should release his tax returns, but that Democratic efforts to secure them through legislation are “moronic.”
“I’d like the president to follow through and show his tax returns,” Mr. Romney, Utah Republican, said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “I wish he’d do that.”
“But I have to also tell you: I think the Democrats are just playing along his handbook,” Mr. Romney said.
“Going after his tax returns through a legislative action is moronic,” he said. “That’s not going to happen. The courts are not going to say that you can compel a person running for office to release their tax returns.”
House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal recently requested six years of Mr. Trump’s returns from the IRS, citing an obscure law that allows the chairmen of Congress’s tax-writing committees to make such a request
Mr. Neal says he wants to look into the IRS policy on auditing presidential tax returns. Dating back to the 2016 presidential campaign, Mr. Trump has said he’s under audit and won’t release the returns under those circumstances.
House Democrats also included a provision in ethics legislation they passed last month that would require presidents and presidential nominees to release a decade’s worth of tax returns.
“He’s going to win this victory. He wins them time after time,” Mr. Romney said of Mr. Trump.
Acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney said on “Fox News Sunday” that Democrats will never get their hands on Mr. Trump’s returns.
• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.