Deputy White House press secretary Hogan Gidley slammed Democrats for formally requesting President Trump’s tax returns on Thursday, telling Hill.TV’s “Rising” that the party is retreating to its failed 2016 playbook.
“Democrats are going back to the same playbook they had in 2016 for the election. It’s not going to work now because it didn’t work then,” Gidley told hosts Krystal Ball and Buck Sexton.
Trump, who is the first president in decades not to publicly release his tax returns, has cited an audit as the reason why he has not released the documents.
“When the things are under audit, he is less inclined to release them,” Gidley said. “He’s been very clear about where he stands. This has already been litigated, and this is just old tired tactics by the Democrats because they’ve got nothing to hang their hat on, and they’re sore losers.”
The IRS has said audits do not prevent individuals from releasing their own tax returns.
House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal (D-Mass.) on Wednesday sent a letter to IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig requesting six years of Trump’s personal and business tax returns, from 2013-2018, by April 10.
— Julia Manchester
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