Conservative Byron York, a writer at the Washington Examiner, issued an ominous warning on Tuesday about Democrats who want to use their powers to obtain President Donald Trump’s tax returns.

In a Twitter message promoting his new story on Democratic efforts to get Trump’s taxes, York writes that “if Democrats get Trump tax returns, some Republicans warning what goes around comes around.”

York then quoted an unnamed GOP official who said that, “Once you go down the road, there’s no turning back… there are lots of people we could have subpoenaed their tax returns the last few years that would be very interesting.”

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If Ds get Trump tax returns, some Rs warning what goes around comes around. 'Once you go down the road, there's no turning back…There are lots of people we could have subpoenaed their tax returns the last few years that would be very interesting.' https://t.co/7qt3h8HLgG

— Byron York (@ByronYork) February 12, 2019

However, York’s tweet was immediately bombarded by liberals and Democrats who cheered on any effort to make politicians more accountable by releasing their tax returns. What’s more, they pointed out that the only reason Democrats are going to unprecedented lengths to obtain Trump’s taxes is that Trump has steadfastly refused to release them, defying both his own campaign promises and 40 years’ worth of norms among presidential candidates.

Check out some of the reactions below.

Saying “if this crime is uncovered, other crimes could be uncovered” is actually a pretty great reason to do it.

— Brendel (@Brendelbored) February 12, 2019

That'd be a weird thing to worry about since every presidential candidate since Watergate released their tax returns until Trump.

— Jonathan M. Katz✍🏻 (@KatzOnEarth) February 12, 2019

Oh no, not more transparency. Oh dear god, however we deal with greater transparency? Can you even imagine? Having even clearer insight on politicians earnings? Yikes.

— JimmyG303☃️ (@JimmyG303) February 12, 2019

Also just the sheer hilarious lack of self-awareness.

"If you conduct a thorough investigation, we're going to invent a bunch of facetious investigations about your politicians!"

Uhhhh………

— Steve Watts (@sporkyreeve) February 12, 2019

I mean, that’s literally what everyone wants and most candidates have done for decades – so, uh, good?

— Mike Drucker (@MikeDrucker) February 12, 2019

We… don't actually have a problem with this. Sunshine is the best antiseptic, etc. etc.

It's an indication of the GOP mindset that they see this as a problem, and think everyone else will, too.

— Sandra Swan (@damianaswan) February 12, 2019

Good lord! Transparency in the system?

Do they realize that to many Democrats this isn't much of a threat, because we want to see corrupt Democrats thrown out of the system too?

— Noah Callaway (@ncallaway) February 12, 2019

Let me rephrase that for you: "If the American people get Trump tax returns (as they have gotten the returns of every other presidential candidate for the last 10 presidential election cycles), some Rs warn that future candidates may be forced to also be routinely transparent.

— Way Too Prolix (@TooProlix) February 12, 2019

That sounds great! All public office holders should be scrutinized.

— Scott Tobias (@scott_tobias) February 12, 2019

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… then let us make a small request. Like you, we here at Raw Story believe in the power of progressive journalism — and we’re investing in investigative reporting as other publications give it the ax. Raw Story readers power David Cay Johnston’s DCReport, which we've expanded to keep watch in Washington. We’ve exposed billionaire tax evasion and uncovered White House efforts to poison our water. We’ve revealed financial scams that prey on veterans, and efforts to harm workers exploited by abusive bosses. We’ve launched a weekly podcast, “We’ve Got Issues,” focused on issues, not tweets. Unlike other news outlets, we’ve decided to make our original content free. But we need your support to do what we do.

Raw Story is independent. You won’t find mainstream media bias here. We’re not part of a conglomerate, or a project of venture capital bros. From unflinching coverage of racism, to revealing efforts to erode our rights, Raw Story will continue to expose hypocrisy and harm. Unhinged from corporate overlords, we fight to ensure no one is forgotten.

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