“That it is limited to a single President, seeks tax information from before the President took office, asks no questions about IRS policy, and does not even wait for the IRS to finish its ongoing examinations (and any resulting appeals) reveals that Chairman Neal’s request is nothing more than an attempt to exercise constitutional authority that Congress does not possess,” Consovoy wrote in a letter to Brent McIntosh, general counsel at the Treasury Department
READ MORE: US House Committee Chair Abuses Authority With Subpoena to Trump Accountant
Neal had argued on Saturday that the panel is authorized by law to see a copy of the president's returns from 2013 to 2018, setting a new date for the IRS to turn over six years' worth of Trump's business and personal returns, expecting a response from the IRS by 5 pm on April 23.
Consovoy argued that Neal's reasons for seeking Trump's returns are inadequate and that "no one actually believes" that the committee chairman is seeking the documents for a legislative purpose, adding that the motives of lawmakers are relevant to the request.
"Congress has no constitutional authority to act like a junior-varsity IRS, rerunning individual examinations or flyspecking the agency’s calculations," Consovoy said.
"I'm always under audit, it seems, but I've been under audit for many years because the numbers are big, and I guess when you have a name, you're audited", Trump said when asked about Neal's request.
Trump also added that he is not "inclined" to publicly release any tax returns until the day he is no longer under audit.
