Democratic Senator Ron Wyden Threatens To Block Treasury Nominees Over Trump’s Tax Returns

In the prolonged battle for President Donald Trump’s tax returns, the Treasury Department steadfastly refuses to hand over the president’s financial information in the face of subpoenas and requests for information.

Earlier this month, Democratic Senator Ron Wyden sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, asking for information related to his decisions to keep Trump’s tax returns private. Mnuchin seemingly refused the request. Now, The Hill reports that Wyden is threatening to block nominees to the Treasury Department until the Trump administration is transparent about its handling of the request regarding the president’s tax returns.

“If the Treasury Department refuses to answer our questions, I am prepared to again place a hold on department nominees as I did previously when routine requests for information went unanswered.”

“Congress needs to take action to force the administration to comply with oversight,” he added.

Wyden reportedly asked Mnuchin for copies of emails, memorandums, and other communications relating to his decision — also asking for information regarding the IRS’s handling of previous congressional requests for tax returns. But Mnuchin’s response didn’t include all of the required information, and Wyden called his reply “unresponsive and wholly unacceptable.”

Wyden’s move is just another in a long line of Democrats applying pressure on the Treasury Department, in the apparent hopes of gaining access to Trump’s financial information. As The Inquisitr reported, Democratic Representative Lloyd Doggett said, earlier this month, that Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Commissioner Charles Rettig and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin should be jailed for their role in stonewalling requests for Trump’s tax returns.

“If the Treasury Department refuses to answer our questions, I am prepared to again place a hold on department nominees,” Sen. Ron Wyden said Thursday https://t.co/MLl6wRRECF

— Roll Call (@rollcall) May 30, 2019

Last week, Wyden also said that Brent McIntosh — general counsel to the Treasury Department, and the president’s nominee to serve as undersecretary for international affairs in the same department — should prepare himself to answer questions. The questions Wyden allegedly plans to ask concern the role McIntosh took in the department’s refusal to comply with House Ways and Means Chairman Richard Neal’s request for Trump’s tax returns. Per Politico, Wyden also suggested that McIntosh’s ability to answer such questions would affect his ability to gain a position at the Treasury Department.

In addition to McIntosh, other Treasury Department nominees that could face a hold from Wyden include Brian McGuire, Michael Faulkender, Brian Callanan, and Geoffrey William Seiji Okamoto.

If Wyden places a hold on Treasury Department nominees, it won’t be the first time he has done so. Last year, he placed holds on multiple nominees, including Justin Muzinich, Trump’s choice for deputy secretary. Wyden reportedly did so due to his belief that the administration was stonewalling requests for oversight information. Regardless, Muzinich ended up being confirmed in December.