WASHINGTON, July 2 (Reuters) – A House of Representatives panel filed suit on Tuesday against the U.S. Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service, as it wrangled to obtain President Donald Trump’s tax returns.
The Democratic-led House Ways and Means Committee filed the lawsuit in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia after the Treasury Department refused a request for tax information about the Republican president.
“In refusing to comply with the statute, Defendants have mounted an extraordinary attack on the authority of Congress to obtain information needed to conduct oversight of Treasury, the IRS, and the tax laws on behalf of the American people,” the lawsuit said.
RELATED: Take a look at the U.S. state where Americans pay the highest tax returns:
42 PHOTOSStates where Americans pay the highest in state income taxesSee GalleryStates where Americans pay the highest in state income taxes
California
State income tax: 1% to 13.3%
Maine
State income tax: 5.8% to 10.15%
Oregon
State income tax: 5% to 9.9%
Minnesota
State income tax: 5.35% to 9.85%
Iowa
State income tax: 0.36% to 8.98%
New Jersey
State income tax: 1.4% to 8.97%
Vermont
State income tax: 3.55% to 8.95%
Washington, DC
State income tax: 4% to 8.95%
New York
State income tax: 4% to 8.82%
Hawaii
State income tax: 1.4% to 8.25%
Wisconsin
State income tax: 4% to 7.65%
Idaho
State income tax: 1.6% to 7.4%
South Carolina
State income tax: 0% to 7%
Connecticut
State income tax: 3% to 6.99%
Arkansas
State income tax: 0.9% to 6.9%
Montana
State income tax: 1% to 6.9%
Nebraska
State income tax: 2.46% to 6.84%
Delaware
State income tax: 2.2% to 6.6%
West Virginia
State income tax: 3% to 6.5%
Georgia
State income tax: 1% to 6%
Kentucky
State income tax: 2% to 6%
Louisiana
State income tax: 2% to 6%
Missouri
State income tax: 1.5% to 6%
Rhode Island
State income tax: 3.75% to 5.99%
Maryland
State income tax: 2% to 5.75%
North Carolina
State income tax: 5.75%
Virginia
State income tax: 2% to 5.75%
Oklahoma
State income tax: 0.5% to 5.25%
Massachusetts
State income tax: 5.1%
Alabama
State income tax: 2% to 5%
Mississippi
State income tax: 3% to 5%
Utah
State income tax: 5%
Ohio
State income tax: 0.495% to 4.997%
New Mexico
State income tax: 1.7% to 4.9%
Colorado
State income tax: 4.63%
Kansas
State income tax: 2.7% to 4.6%
Arizona
State income tax: 2.59% to 4.54%
Michigan
State income tax: 4.25%
Illinois
State income tax: 3.75%
Indiana
State income tax: 3.3%
Pennsylvania
State income tax: 3.07%
North Dakota
State income tax: 1.1% to 2.9%
See Gallery
The lawsuit said the committee believes it was the first time an administration has denied such a request.
The committee is one of half a dozen that are conducting investigations involving Trump and his administration, from his campaign’s contacts with Russians during the 2016 presidential race to the sprawling business interests he has not divested since taking office.
The White House is refusing to cooperate with most of them, setting up potential legal battles like this one.
Democrats have pressed Trump to release tax records from 2013 to 2018, which legal experts said could shed light on the president’s business dealings. Such a legal process, experts said, could unfold slowly and become an issue in the 2020 election.
The lawsuit, which also names Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, said the administration’s continued refusal to produce the materials “is depriving the Committee of information necessary to complete its time-limited investigation, thereby impeding its most basic constitutional functions.”
It asked the court to force the administration to comply. (Reporting by Susan Heavey; Writing by Doina Chiacu; editing by Jonathan Oatis)
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