Trump's tax returns could end up in Democrats' hands after election loss: report

With Donald Trump on his way out the Oval Office door following his loss to former Vice President Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election, Politico reports that the long-sought-after tax returns of the president could be handed over to House Democrats who still want to launch investigations into his finances.

As the Biden administration takes shape and new officials are installed in the Treasury Department -- including replacing Secretary Steve Mnuchin who has been running interference for the president -- Trump's tax returns might soon become available.

According to the report, "President Donald Trump’s defeat will make it a lot easier for Democrats to finally get his tax returns, and some prominent lawmakers plan to keep the heat on the incoming Biden administration and House leaders to deliver," before adding, "Once Biden controls the Treasury Department, his administration could simply hand over the long-sought records to its allies in Congress, who have been fighting in court to force Trump to turn them over, so far unsuccessfully."

While Biden could instruct his administration officials to not hand over the documents, Democrats like Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-N.J.), the head of the House Ways and Means Oversight Subcommittee, will surely press for them after years of stalling from the president.

“In a perfect world, we could have mercy — but this is not a perfect world,” explained Pascrell, "Even if he is no longer the president, there needs to be some accountability. We have got to follow through on this.”

Of particular concern to the president -- outside of the embarrassment that the public may find out he is not as rich as he has claimed -- could be information damaging to his plans to run for president again in 2024.

The report notes that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) has previously stated that the president's tax returns would be released if Biden won, telling reporters, "Then the world will see what the president has been hiding all this time."

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