While President Trump was pledging to work for peace in the Middle East, his White House continued under siege. There have been calls for three separate investigations — into the accusation that members of his team were in contact with Russian intelligence, into his discussion of North Korea’s missile test in an open dining room and his counselor’s potential ethics violations. Joining NJTV News Anchor Mary Alice Williams from Washington is House Ways and Means Committee member Congressman Bill Pascrell.
Williams: Thank you for being with us, congressman. Let me start with the White House. Does Congress have any responsibility to act on any of those accusations?
Pascrell: Absolutely. This is a democratic system of checks and balances, we ought to try it once in a while. It does work in the greatest country in the world. The executive branch should not have an edge on either the legislative branch of government of the judicial branch. We have our responsibilities to see what relationships go on between the United States and other nations. This is a joint issue. The safety of this nation is the primary responsibility of the president of the United States. But when I take my oath also, I pledge also to help the country that I love so dearly to be secure, both domestically and in terms of foreign relations. So I’m going to follow up on my responsibilities. I hope the president follows up on his responsibility.
Williams: Let me ask you this, President Trump has broken decades-long precedent to make public his tax returns. Now you’re proposing to make him do it. What do you think will be learned from Trump’s tax returns?
Pascrell: Well we don’t know. He has over 550 business enterprises in many countries including our own. How is that affecting foreign policy? What has he done since he became the president and what has he done before he was the president? What did he do before he was the president of the United States? Look, the last Democratic and Republican presidents all gave up their tax returns in order for folks to see. Not just the disclosure, but the tax returns which are more definitive. As to where you’ve invested your money, where you’re making your money and what relationships you have with foreign governments. And also, that comes out of section 6103 in the IRS code, 6103F, which was put together in 1924…
Williams: 1924, right, that was passed after the Teapot Dome Scandal. Even if congressional committees are allowed to review Trump’s taxes based on that law it would be in closed meetings that are not open to the public.
Pascrell: Only if the committees, regardless of whether it’s Ways and Means, regardless if it’s Senate Finance or the third possible committee of course is the Joint Committee on Taxation, if they vote to make it public, in the public interest and in the common good, they can do that. They have that authority and power. That’s what we did in ’74 with Nixon and that’s what we did just three years ago. I voted no when they went into people’s private returns with organizations that were being investigated by the Republicans in the House. They made it a partisan issue. This is by no means a partisan issue.
Williams: You were shot down by the Ways and Means chair who said that your proposal would weaken privacy rights and civil liberties.
Pascrell: That’s what he said.
Williams: Were you deterred?
Pascrell: No. The law is on my side. I’m trying, I’m sorry to tell Kevin Brady — who is the chairman of our committee who I get along with very, very well — the law is on my side. The constitution is on my side. Where are you going with this? You can hide all you want, but you can’t hide forever. And at some moment, between now and who knows when, the president’s tax returns will be revealed and we will see where his investments are.
Williams: Now congressman, you don’t regularly release your returns. You’re not required to. Should everyone be required? Should there be a law?
Pascrell: Yeah, I do believe that. The president of the United States, we should know. I released everything else. In fact, four years ago during a primary I had to release my tax returns themselves but we have an extensive disclosure, members of the House of Representatives. Even the physician of the House has to give in and disclose. The president of the United States can’t just give us frivolously, willy-nilly some papers and not other papers. We have a right to know where he’s investing. We have a right to know if he’s gained by his relationships during the campaign and after the campaign. And third, I mentioned this before, Article I, Section 9 is very clear about the president and what gifts he gets and what benefits he gets from other countries, and let me tell you he already violated that section of the Constitution of the United States of America. The law is on our side.