The Wall Street Journal: Democrats Plan Immediate Request for Trump Tax Returns

The new Democratic majority will request President Trump's tax returns immediately under the section of the tax code that allows them to review the documents, a senior lawmaker said Wednesday.

"I'm confident that this president who's had no oversight, only overlook, will feel that he's above the law on this also," Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D., Texas) said on a conference call with reporters. "While we may not get those returns immediately, we ought to. And we ought to be asking for them immediately, aware that the president will be resistant to oversight."

Mr. Doggett didn't specify what Democrats mean by "immediately." The new House will be sworn in early January.

Under the tax law, the chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee can request and review any taxpayer's returns. To resist, Mr. Trump would need Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin to refuse the request. That standoff could end up in court.

Mr. Doggett, a senior member of the Ways and Means Committee, said the returns would help Democrats investigate Mr. Trump's conflicts of interest and business ties to foreign governments.

"It's important to our oversight to get those returns, important in both protecting our national security and protecting the integrity of the tax code," he said.