President Donald Trump continues to refuse to release his tax information, citing an ongoing audit.
Secretary of Treasury Steve Mnuchin has backed the President on this issue, prompting calls for his resignation.
Trump has said he'd fight subpoenas issued by Democrats.
Writing in the Washington Post, columnist Greg Sargent outlines the worst case scenario for Democrats.
"The administration’s categorical refusal to release President Trump’s tax returns heightens the difficult question Democrats face, and raises the prospect of a nightmare scenario — both in political and substantive terms," he writes.
"Democrats must now choose between continuing to pursue the returns through conventional channels, which carries some risk of failure, and getting serious about impeachment hearings, which would likely minimize that risk to the greatest extent possible."
Sargent points out that if Democrats continue to wait for Trump's tax returns before initiating impeachment proceedings, he might continue stalling -- until it's too close to 2020 for impeachment to remain a viable option.
"The bottom line: A loss, coming next fall or later, is at least possible. And at that point, Democrats would likely be even more reluctant to launch impeachment hearings, with 2020 right around the corner," he continues.
"This would constitute an epic, disastrous failure. Not getting Trump’s returns would allow him to get away with one of his most blatant acts of contempt for transparency, for the separation of powers and for the notion that basic accountability should apply to him at all."
