It would appear that the Democrats are continuing to revert back to their past ideology...that of Stalin's Soviet style police and KGB.

"Ve vant to see your papers".  And they pretend to be afraid of Putin?    

If the Dems are attempting to do this to a sitting president, imagine what they could do to an average citizen.

Pretty scary precedents they are attempting to  set up.

They fail to recognize the same tactics could be used against them someday.

Pretty scary precedents they are attempting to  set up.

they know serious indictments are inbound. 

and they will fight tooth and nail until their end. all rules be damned.

what's funny is they think by getting rid of trump all their troubles will just vanish.. too late for that.

cheers

It's an interesting tactic, but it will fail. The law gives the Congressional Committee the right to look at anyone's IRS documents. Trump could stop it all right now by releasing them himself, but it looks like he has skeletons to hide in this closet.

Interesting - how 'bout showing us a copy of that law, eh?

26 U.S. Code § 6103. Confidentiality and disclosure of returns and return information

• U.S. Code
• Notes
• Authorities (CFR)

(f) Disclosure to Committees of Congress

(1) Committee on Ways and Means, Committee on Finance, and Joint Committee on Taxation

Upon written request from the chairman of the Committee on Ways and Means of the House of Representatives , the chairman of the Committee on Finance of the Senate , or the chairman of the Joint Committee on Taxation, the Secretary shall furnish such committee with any return or return information specified in such request, except that any return or return information which can be associated with, or otherwise identify, directly or indirectly, a particular taxpayer shall be furnished to such committee only when sitting in closed executive session unless such taxpayer otherwise consents in writing to such disclosure.

(2) Chief of Staff of Joint Committee on Taxation

Upon written request by the Chief of Staff of the Joint Committee on Taxation, the Secretary shall furnish him with any return or return information specified in such request. Such Chief of Staff may submit such return or return information to any committee described in paragraph (1), except that any return or return information which can be associated with, or otherwise identify, directly or indirectly, a particular taxpayer shall be furnished to such committee only when sitting in closed executive session unless such taxpayer otherwise consents in writing to such disclosure.

(3) Other committees

Pursuant to an action by, and upon written request by the chairman of, a committee of the Senate or the House of Representatives (other than a committee specified in paragraph (1)) specially authorized to inspect any return or return information by a resolution of the Senate or the House of Representatives or, in the case of a joint committee (other than the joint committee specified in paragraph (1)) by concurrent resolution, the Secretary shall furnish such committee, or a duly authorized and designated subcommittee thereof, sitting in closed executive session, with any return or return information which such resolution authorizes the committee or subcommittee to inspect. Any resolution described in this paragraph shall specify the purpose for which the return or return information is to be furnished and that such information cannot reasonably be obtained from any other source.

law.cornell

irs

and you can google that SCOTUS used the same law to compel Richard Nixon to release his tax returns in 1974.

Unless there is some compelling reason for Trump to turn over his returns, I suspect the good Justices' will not force him to comply, realizing that the requests are nothing but a political stunt and witch hunt.

Unless there is some compelling reason for Trump to turn over his returns, I suspect the good Justices' will not force him to comply, realizing that the requests are nothing but a political stunt and witch hunt.

I remember that some said it was a witch hunt in 1974 also, but once Nixon's returns were made public,

the IRS found many issues with Nixon's old tax returns to the tune of $432,000.00 in 1974 currency, roughly $2,400,000 in 2019.

And Nixon had only some CA & NY homes, not a real estate empire spanning the planet.

Who could have blackmailed Nixon besides Agnew?

.

National Security is priority one, is it not?

The president has businesses in many countries that aren't exactly friendly to us.

I would prefer that he voluntarily prove his businesses are clean and free from any foreign conflicts of interest,

but no, Trump has to go where no POTUS has ever gone before,

issuing a restraining order against Congress?  Really?

Suing Deutche Bank and Capital One to block their compliance with Congressional subpoenas?  Really?

His actions just reek of innocence (/s)

and his explanation is that

there are very few people smart enough to understand his taxes.  We are ALL too dumb to understand them, right?

Yeah, right.

Unless there is some compelling reason for Trump to turn over his returns,

How about re-election and shutting up all of his "detractors".

That sounds like a slam dunk reason to come clean if there's no there, there?

Agree?

How about re-election and shutting up all of his "detractors"

Never happen, plus his supporters don't care.

They will never care until there is another Dem president.

Unless there is some compelling reason for Trump to turn over his returns

His long time attorney testified before a grand jury and congress claiming Trump may have committed tax and/or bank fraud. Should it not be investigated? If Cohen is lying we should tack a few more years onto his prison term and if not Trump should suffer consequences as well.  

Thanks for the assist.

No because that’s not a legitimate function of Congress. That would be the IRS and DOJ

No because that’s not a legitimate function of Congress. That would be the IRS and DOJ

Have you ever heard of the Ways and Means Committee?  The House of Representatives controls the purse strings of the government, so they have the power and the right to ask.

The Committee on Ways and Means is the chief tax-writing committee of the United States House of Representatives. Members of the Ways and Means Committee are not allowed to serve on any other House Committee unless they are granted a waiver from their party's congressional leadership.

No because that’s not a legitimate function of Congress.

Part of Congresses duties is O V E R S I T E under which this falls.

Nonsense. What does the Budget of the US have to do with Trump and his family’s private businesses or tax returns.

they want all of his financials going back 4 years before he became president. This has never happened in our history.

FDR ordered that his tax returns could not be released until after his death.  JFK and LBJ also refused to let theirs be disclosed.

this is just a fascist witch hunt 

That has NOTHING to do with legitimate  oversight. What budget items or enforcement of existing laws are suspect that they accuse Trump of not carrying out

Nonsense. What does the Budget of the US have to do with Trump and his family’s private businesses or tax returns.

they want all of his financials going back 4 years before he became president. This has never happened in our history.

FDR ordered that his tax returns could not be released until after his death.  JFK and LBJ also refused to let theirs be disclosed.

this is just a fascist witch hunt 

There is a legal precedent,

politico

Key word there is fascist.  That is the intent and basis for all elected officials and their staff seeking this information.

The Constitutional power of Congress is to have the power of investigation of the POTUS.  There is nothing fascist involved with the Mueller investigation or the current congressional report because of the information that was uncovered by Mueller. 

At the federal level , Article I, Section 2, Clause 5 of the Constitution grants to the House of Representatives "the sole power of impeachment",

 Is the US Constitution in itself fascist, or is the power to investigate the POTUS only permitted when the POTUS is a Democrat?

Congress has no oversight powers over private citizens.

The POTUS is not a private citizen. 

That has NOTHING to do with legitimate  oversight.

Annndd you got your law degree from where?

They have no valid reasons to see them. There is no evidence that a crime has been committed, and as a sitting president he is not subject to this kind of procedure. As is evident to EVERYBODY, this is simple another lame attempt to dig up dirt on the president. They are brazenly attempting to go around the LAW by attempting to see these personal and private records for simply political reasons.

They have no valid reasons to see them.

There are all kinds of claims of fraud and impropriety in Trumps business dealings. 

...and as a sitting president he is not subject to this kind of procedure.

False. There's an actual law that spells it out and it's posted somewhere in this thread.

...this is simple another lame attempt to dig up dirt on the president.

Duh! Of course it is. Find a whiff of a rumor and investigate it until it's dead. Use every innuendo to discredit your opponent. The GoP started this shit with Whitewater, ramped it up with Obama and H.Clinton and now here we are.

They are brazenly attempting to go around the LAW by attempting to see these personal and private records for simply political reasons.

You guys keep claiming it's unlawful, but the law has already been posted here and you can read it for yourself. Trump is just hoping to keep his skeletons in the closet as long as he can. Deutchebank has already said they will comply with all Congressional supeona.

Anyway the 2nd District of NY will have everything in a neat little binder waiting whenever Trump's ass hits the curb.

The law gives the Congressional Committee the right to look at anyone's IRS documents.

If that were true then all they would need to do is ask the IRS for them. If the FBI or any other Government Agency wanted my Tax Returns they wouldn't ask me they'd ask the IRS. If they had a Legitimate Legal reason the IRS would give them the returns so the fact that they haven't released Trumps returns must mean there is no Legitimate Legal Reason.

If that were true then all they would need to do is ask the IRS for them.

Which they did and Munuchin ordered the IRS (which is his area of oversite) to stand down and said he would defy the law. 

If the FBI or any other Government Agency wanted my Tax Returns they wouldn't ask me they'd ask the IRS.

The law states a specific Congressional Oversite Committees. The FBI and other entities need a warrant or subpoena depending on the reasons. 

If they had a Legitimate Legal reason the IRS would give them the returns...

Cohen claims Trump may have committed fraud by claiming some things are worth more when using it as loan collateral and less when claiming it for tax purposes. I'm no tax or banking lawyer, but that's probably fraud and should be investigated. If Cohen is found to be lying then we should tack a few more years onto his prison term, if not the Trump has some explaining to do. 

Cohen claims Trump may have committed fraud by claiming some things are worth more when using it as loan collateral and less when claiming it for tax purposes. I'm no tax or banking lawyer, but that's probably fraud and should be investigated

None of that information is in his Federal Tax Return. Income is Taxed by the IRS, Assets are Taxed by Local Government, and any claims to the value of assets for purposes of collateral made to Banks are in the Bank Records not on his Tax Return. So if that was their reason for requesting the records I can see why they were refused.

after the failed coup attempt straight out of the communist playbook/

trump can straight up tell all dems with all their investigations to simply fuk off and there is nothing they can do about it.  but, there will be much gnashing of teeth from the demoncrats and that is daily music to my ears.

trump should sue congress for abuse of power...    that would be hilarious

cheers

What was the date of this coup attempt and who was the leader? When is the trial for treason and insurrection scheduled?

The coup attempt is ongoing by the deep state.   The leader was President Obama and the trial for insurrection and treason will be scheduled once all the investigations by the IG and current AG are complete.

Are MAGA hats available in a foiled lined version ? 

There is no deep state.

On what date did this supposed coup happen?

AG Barr is in serious jeopardy himself for his attempt to act as Trump's personal attorney and to downplay the scope of evidence that Bob Mueller's investigation discovered. 

That is ridiculous.   I dion't even know how to respond sometimes to the delusional bullshit conservatives come up with.  I'll put Obama under a real investigation any day, because  I already know the gop did their level best to find something to get him on.  And they got nothing.  Republicans are the ones trying to hide things.  The ones lying (because repeating Trump lies is lying).  They want to hide, they want to protect Trump, they want to pretend this is about Hillary's emails or other stupid shit.  Bring on real investigations.  But Trump will continue to be investigated by congress, rightfully so since its their constitutional job.  Bring it on.  Not a doubt where the treason lies.

Barr is in no legal jeopardy whatsoever.  

The evidence says otherwise,

thehill

John Dean??  Lol 😂!

John Dean isn't a liberal. He was Tricky Dick's legal mouthpiece and fix-it man.

John Wesley Dean III is a former attorney who served as White House Counsel for United States President Richard Nixon from July 1970 until April 1973, where he became deeply involved in events leading up to the Watergate burglaries and the subsequent Watergate scandal cover-up.

John Dean has been a leftist for more than 40 years.  Nixon was a leftist 

Dean has been a regular on far left programs like Democracy Now for decades

I don't know why the left despises one of their greatest champions in Nixon

"If Nixon Were Alive Today, He Would Be Far Too Liberal to Get Even the Democratic Nomination

Richard Nixon was our last liberal president. – Noam Chomsky

Nixon posted an objective record that we can use for purposes of comparison. Consider (and forgive me for repeating some of what I wrote three years ago here):

• He got us out of Vietnam.
  
• He was a keen foreign policy type whose diplomatic efforts strengthened our relationships with both established and emerging world powers.
  
• He implemented the first significant federal affirmative action program.
  
• He dramatically increased spending on federal employee salaries.
  
• He oversaw the first large-scale integration of public schools in the South (something the crackers where I grew up were none too happy about).
  
• He proposed a guaranteed annual wage (aka a “negative income tax”).
  
• He advocated comprehensive national health insurance (single payer) for all Americans.
  
• He imposed wage and price controls in times of economic crisis. This wasn’t a terribly good idea, but it was the furthest thing from a conservative idea. Truth is, it was positively socialist.
  
• He indexed Social Security for inflation and created Supplemental Security Income.
  
• He created the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and the Office of Minority Business Enterprise.
  
• He promoted the Legacy of Parks program.
  
• He appointed four Supreme Court Justices. Three of them voted with the majority in Roe v. Wade.
  
• alternet

John Dean has been a leftist for more than 40 years.  Nixon was a leftist 

You lost all credibility with this claim.

Everybody except Attila the Hun, Constantine and Torquemada would be a leftist to you. 

So the fact that I agree with  a radical leftist like Noam Chomsky on Nixon being a leftist means I have no credibility? That makes yours suspect at best.

Nixon never did anything that was conservative which is why I left the GOP in 1970

Dean has been a regular with Amy Goodman’s radical leftist program Democracy Now for many years

Dean writes columns for Alexander Cockburn’s Communist/Stalinist Counterpunch

i yet to ever hear a defense of anything conservative by Dean in the past. 45 years

Substantive debate too difficult for you?

“Everybody except Attila the Hun, Constantine and Torquemada would be a leftist to you.“

Those you mention we’re all totalitarians who have nothing to do with conservatism. I think it’s apparent you know nothing about conservatism. That leaves you wandering off into straw man and red herring arguments

Those you mention we’re all totalitarians who have nothing to do with conservatism. I think it’s apparent you know nothing about conservatism. That leaves you wandering off into straw man and red herring arguments

You like Donald Trump and he also supports totalitarian ideas such as limiting the freedom of the press and free speech, his support of the Alt-Right/Neo-nazis, and ignoring critical concepts of the US Constitution. 

You claim to support via a very bizarre interpretation of the US Constitution but your ideas have much more in common with the failed Articles of Confederation that created a weak federal government. That document was replaced because it wasn't workable, even in the 1780s.   Your fiscal ideas make Ayn Rand look liberal and yet you claim to be a Christian. You use the internet but at the same time, you oppose the federal government's support of higher learning and research that created it and governs it. I assume that you send all mail by UPS because using the USPS would be the support of a unionized socialist enterprise. 

 You support an exceedingly illogical contradiction of revisionist ideas you expect everyone to ignore that core idea. 

Denial isn't a river in Egypt.

What a hoot!!! Good luck with that, SCUMBAG!!

Interesting.  So 'the Trump's' tactic is to be a private citizen?  Holy Crackers!!!!!!!!  Indict him.

First of all, trump is no longer a 'private' citizen.

Second, if Obama or Hillary had filed a restraining order against a member of congress, the right would be screaming mad.

Oh the joy to be had when the tables are turned and I can hear all the hypocritical bullshit.

You all keep setting precedent that is going to bite you in the ass.

First of all, the left no longer has any credibility.

second, the left has lost all respect

Oh the joy to be had when the tables are turned

when the gop sponsors an overthrow of an election and our govt?  get back to us then.

You all keep setting precedent that is going to bite you in the ass.

stopping the lefts coup attempt is a precedent that needs setting in a very big way.

and ya aint see nothing yet.

before the year is out some very big names are going down

thinking the left could attempt a coup and then carry on like nothing happened is silly.

enjoy

The democrat coup attempt has been exposed and its perps need to be publicly punished.

Was the Starr report also a coup, or is it different when the GOP investigates the POTUS? 

Could Hillary or Obama, who are both lawyers, have stopped the Benghazi investigation by filing a restraining order against Congress? 

The Starr report was required as a law specifically passed by Congress.

The Starr report was required as a law specifically passed by Congress.

The Starr report was also approved by the AG.

Do you know you repeat Russian propaganda with the term 'coup'?  There is a reason Trump started calling it that, and you repeat it.  Looks like they still have the gop in their pocket.  Trump takes propaganda from the trolls, repeats it and its picked up and repeated on right wing media.  They've been doing it for years now. Look at those familiar words. (this is from last year, still relevant)  Deep state.  Coup.  Blaming Obama.  Well done helping them out! 

politico

Last weekend, a host of new hashtags trended in the network of accounts monitored by Hamilton 68, including #fisagate, #obamadeepstate, #wethepeopledemandjustice, #thememorevealsthecoup and even #obamaslegacyisobamagate.

I'm curious...

Besides resign or be impeached, or some other wet liberal dream, what could President Trump do that will make liberals happy?

Is a booming economy not enough?

Is the lowest unemployment EVER not enough?

Is the lowest unemployment of ALL minorities EVER not enough?

How about manufacturing jobs coming back at a high level? Is that enough?

I'd like serious responses, if you can.

First, it’s important to understand that Trump is fighting against Cummings and his subpoena as a private citizen of the United States and not as the President.

What an utter load of BULLSHIT. 

First, it's important to understand that the Trump ORGANIZATION is the entity that is suing Cummings, NOT Trump the 'private citizen'. Strike one. 

Secondly, his lawyer's ONLY argument is that Cummings' motivation is purely political. Strike two. 

Thirdly, I'm old enough to remember Whitewater and the GOP investigating Clinton for shit that happened before he was POTUS. The courts ruled in FAVOR of subpoenas for testimony AND documents. Strike three. 

Star investigated for 3.5 years and filed a report that barely mentioned Whitewater. As Barr and Rudy would say, no 'underlying crime'.

Now THAT was a witch hunt...

the Trump ORGANIZATION is the entity that is suing Cummings

So what? The Trump ORGANIZATION was run by D Trump when he was a private citizen, not as President, so essentially, he is suing as a private citizen.

[Removed] 

The courts will look differently upon congress demanding records of a then private citizen

History the courts have supported Congress'  gathering of documents from private citizens.

compared to an independent council with unlimited scope.

What lead you to the conclusion that an independent counsel had unlimited scope Xx? 

The order appointing Ken Starr LIMITS the scope for his investigation, JUST LIKE Rosenstein's did for Mueller's investigation.  

You might want to review some FACTS before you make more ridiculous comments.

Oooh, nice deflection!

You seem to have missed the connection Tex. Here let me help. 

From the article:

The information that Cummings is demanding in his subpoena has nothing to do with the White House or Trump’s actions as President.

Whitewater had nothing to do with the White House or Clinton's actions as President. 

Hope that helps.