Despite calls from other members of the Democratic party to move faster and more aggressively in auditing President Donald Trump’s tax returns, U.S. Rep. Richard Neal says he’s going to take as long as he needs to get the job done.
“Understanding that this is not about the latest polling data,” Neal said in an interview Wednesday with WGBY, WGBH’s partner station in Springfield, Mass. “This is not about the scrolling at the bottom of the TV set. This is not about getting more clicks. This is about a court case that could have Herculean ramifications, and we intend to proceed on the basis of making sure that this is done based on substance.”
Neal addressed criticism pointed at him after his inaction following legislation signed into law by New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo earlier this month that many of Neal’s critics said would make it easier for Congress to obtain Trump’s tax returns. Neal, the chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, said he isn’t interested in taking that route.
“The Ways and Means Committee oversees the Internal Revenue Service, [and] we are responsible for overseeing tax policy,” Neal said. “The New York case — our attorneys would say it's questionable because we do not have jurisdiction over those tax forms, and in fact if they were subsequently released, they would be heavily redacted.”
Read more: Neal Says Request For Trump's Tax Returns Is About Policy, Not Politics
In April, Neal requested Trump’s tax returns from 2013 to 2018, after calls from other congressional Democrats to review Trump’s taxes. Many of Trump’s competitors on the campaign trail accused the president of a cover-up after he refused to release them, but Neal says it’s a matter of procedure.
“Our interest here is in policy,” Neal said. “We are not interpreting the election as our goal. We have been advised carefully by House counsel to stick to the substance of the policy matter that is in front of us.”
Neal said he expects a decision to come in the spring of 2020.
