Congress Went to Court for Trump’s Tax Returns. Why?

House committees, among others, have been trying to get President Donald Trump’s tax returns and other financial documents, and have turned to the courts to enforce the effort. Why doesn’t Congress use its own enforcement?
Cornell law professor Josh Chafetz thinks the legislative branch has ceded too much power to the judicial branch. He points to the Nixon tapes effort in the 1970s as a significant turning point, when Congress went to courts for the first time in an information dispute with the executive branch. He talks with Bloomberg Tax legal reporter Aysha Bagchi about the arguments he makes in his book, Congress’s Constitution, and speculates on how the cases may play out.

House committees, among others, have been trying to get President Donald Trump’s tax returns and other financial documents, and have turned to the courts to enforce the effort. Why doesn’t Congress use its own enforcement?

Cornell law professor Josh Chafetz thinks the legislative branch has ceded too much power to the judicial branch. He points to the Nixon tapes effort in the 1970s as a significant turning point, when Congress went to courts for the first time in an information dispute with the executive branch. He talks with Bloomberg Tax legal reporter Aysha Bagchi about the arguments he makes in his book, Congress’s Constitution, and speculates on how the cases may play out.