WASHINGTON ― Donald Trump’s administration is not abiding Democratic requests for Trump’s tax returns under a federal tax disclosure law that gives Congress the power to request copies of anyone’s tax information.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said his department would provide a final answer by May 6 but strongly suggested that answer will be no.

The Treasury Department will consult with the Justice Department on the Democratic request because of “the serious constitutional questions raised by this request and the serious consequences that a resolution of those questions could have for taxpayer privacy,” Mnuchin said in a letter Tuesday to House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal (D-Mass.).

Congressional committees that create tax policy are supposed to be allowed to look at anyone’s tax returns thanks to a 1924 law enacted as a check on corruption in the executive branch of government. Neal gave the administration until 5 p.m. Tuesday to comply.

The law gives no leeway for refusal, meaning the administration will probably wind up explaining its position to a federal judge. Neal said Tuesday he would consult with the committee’s lawyers about his next steps.

Committee member Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-N.J.) said Mnuchin is breaking the law. “This administration’s contempt for rule of law is without peer,” he said.

Democrats have said all along they’ll fight the Trump administration in court. That means they’ll likely issue a subpoena for the documents they requested, which the Trump administration will ignore as part of its overall strategy of stonewalling congressional investigations. And then Democrats can sue to ask a judge to enforce the subpoena.

In an interview with The Washington Post, Trump said Tuesday evening that he is opposed to current and former White House aides providing testimony to congressional panels in the wake of special counsel Robert Mueller’s report. In addition to the Treasury’s defiance toward the House Ways and Means Committee, the White House plans to fight a subpoena from the House Judiciary Committee and a separate subpoena from the House Oversight Committee, potentially by using executive privilege.

Legal scholars have said no administration has ever refused a tax return request, but plenty of administrations have tried to fight subpoenas ― and they’ve often lost. The Supreme Court has repeatedly held that because the Constitution gives Congress the power to legislate, it gives the power to investigate, since lawmakers need good information about the laws they might want to change.