NEW YORK VOTES TO RELEASE TRUMP’S TAX RETURNS, BLOW UP HIS WEB OF LIES

Earlier this week, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin informed Democrats that he would not be turning over Donald Trump’s tax returns, despite a law that requires him to do so. Given that Mnuchin is possibly risking jail time to keep the president’s financial information secret, there’s presumably stuff in there that the former real-estate developer really, really doesn’t want anyone to see. Which makes the news that New York lawmakers have passed a bill to release Trump’s state filings to congressional Dems probably pretty unwelcome in the White House, even more so than the report that the “VERY successful” businessman lost a cool $1.17 billion over a period of 10 years.

On Wednesday, the New York State Senate passed a bill by 39-21 that allows the commissioner of the New York Department of Taxation and Finance to release any state tax return requested by the chair of the House Ways and Means Committee, the Senate Finance Committee, or the Joint Committee on Taxation for any “specified and legitimate legislative purpose.” Given that it’s the president’s home state and the headquarters of the Trump Organization, the Times notes that a tax return from New York could “contain much of the same financial information as a federal return,” which Trump‘s allies have indicated will never see the light of day. On Tuesday, State Senator Brad Hoylman said the State Senate had enough votes to pass the bill, adding that in light of Mnuchin’s slobbering loyalty, “New York’s role [is] even more crucial [in] assisting Congress in its oversight.” The bill would allow a treasure trove of information to be released, including corporation taxes, personal income taxes, and real-estate transfer taxes. Read more

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