Beyer Statement On OLC Opinion

Press Release

Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA), who serves on the House Committee on Ways and Means, issued the following statement today after the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) published a new opinion "Ways and Means Committee's Request for the Former President's Tax Returns and Related Tax Information Pursuant to 26 U.S.C. § 6103(f )(1)," which stated that the "[Department of the] Treasury must furnish the information to the Committee:"

"This opinion is a major victory for the rule of law, transparency, and the American constitutional system. Today the Office of Legal Counsel confirmed what we have always said, that the Section 6103 of U.S. Code requires the Treasury Department to furnish tax information to the Chair of the Ways and Means Committee once that information has been requested. It also confirmed a core tenet of American government: that the Legislative Branch is a coequal branch of government under the Constitution, with a clear authority to investigate."

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