Democrats force House vote on reviewing Trump taxes, Republicans block it on party-line vote

Rss@dailykos.com (hunter) · Tuesday, February 28, 2017, 4:15 pm

Since Donald Trump continues to not release his recent tax returns or fully divest from his businesses, last night a Democratic member of Congress asked that the appropriate committee at least look over those tax returns in private to determine whether, for example, the sitting president is a crook. The Republican House blocked the request on a party-line vote.

Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-N.J.) offered a resolution that would have directed the House to request 10 years of Trump’s tax returns, have the House Ways and Means Committee review them in a closed session and then vote to send the information in the returns to the full House. [...]

“Let’s shine a bright light on the president’s conflicts together,” Pascrell said after the bill was read. “We as a Congress and the broader American public can judge whether his decisions are being made for himself, his business interests, or for the greater good of the American people.”

So now every member of the Republican House—save Walter Jones and Mark Sanford, who meekly voted "present"—are on record as opposing even the private review of the sitting president's conflicts of interest.

Which, for a party that regularly sends itself into frothing spasms over the mere appearance of impropriety from [insert any non-Republican name here], is ... conspicuous. Duly noted.

And yes, Democrats are likely to force similar votes again. The longer it takes to get a full investigation of whether Trump is using the office of the presidency to enrich himself and his family, the more Republicans will have to defend themselves against charges of conspiring to help him do it.

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http://www.dailykos.com/stories/2017/2/28/1638659/-Democrats-force-House-vote-on-reviewing-Trump-taxes-Republicans-block-it-on-party-line-vote