Six years of former President Donald Trump's personal tax returns were scheduled to be released to the public on Friday after the Democratic-led House Ways and Means Committee voted along party lines last week to release the returns.
Certain redactions of sensitive data such as Social Security numbers and contact information were rumored to have been made in the wake of the committee’s unprecedented move, which signals that the final days of Democrats controlling the House are upon us, with Republicans set to regain the upper hand.
This committee obtained these documents thanks to an appeals court’s decision that directed Trump to hand them over after a lengthy legal dispute. The 45th president filed an appeal to the Supreme Court to block the decision, but the request was declined within the last month.
Trump, the only candidate so far in the 2024 GOP presidential primary field, has slammed “radical Democrats” for the move, calling it “an outrageous abuse of power,” with the returns only detailing how successful he has been.
“There is no legitimate legislative purpose for their action, and if you look at what they've done, it's so sad for our country,” the former president said in response to their actions, calling them “unconstitutional.”
“It's nothing but another deranged political witch-hunt, which has been going on from the day I came down the escalator in Trump Tower.”
The release of Trump's tax returns for 2015 to 2020 will bookend a long-running dispute between the previous Republican president and Democratic lawmakers.
(Be sure to check out the video of Donald Trump calling on the Republicans in the incoming House of Representatives to release the financial records of President Joe Biden.)
This isn't the first time that Trump's tax returns have been subject to public review. In October, the New York Times published a story based on leaked tax records, which revealed Trump's financial situation.
Republicans have argued that Democrats will likely be unhappy with the move when the Republicans take over in January. They’ve also warned that the new GOP chair is likely to be pressured to release the tax returns of other notable individuals.
