This is the key lawyer behind the House's Trump tax investigation — and you've probably never heard of him

There are a lot of unceremonious departures occurring in Washington, D.C. as the transition occurs from a Democrat-led House of Representatives to the new Republican-led House of Representatives in 2023, but one of the most under-the-radar departures occurring next month is the departure of the House of Representatives General Counsel Douglas Letter.

Letter, who is only well-known by deep Washington insiders, is the legal authority behind all of the challenges to release the tax returns of former President Trump. His ongoing legal battle with Trump goes back nearly four years.

According to CNN, Letter has had over a dozen in-person legal appearances against Trump, and his ability to legally require the former President to have his tax records released publicly, has turned into a double-edged sword as Republicans take over the House.

The question is how much will Letter's efforts benefit the new Republican-controlled House and how will they use his legal victories as a platform for more evasive investigations and intrusions into Democrats' private lives to appease their conservative stakeholders?

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Democrats may have to worry about Letter's legal victories fueling a Republican inquiry into the political financing of Democratic campaigns from disgraced FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried, possibly opening up inquiries for both private and corporate donations as well as campaign financial contributions.

Regardless of what happens, Letter's influence will be felt long after his departure from the House of Representatives.