White House resists House Democratic probes

The Treasury Department has asked for an extension to the House Ways and Means Committee’s Tuesday deadline to turn over six years of President Donald Trump’s tax returns. In a letter to committee Chairman Richard Neal, D-Mass., Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin said he would have a final decision by May 6. Mnuchin said he is consulting with the Justice Department “due to the serious constitutional questions raised by this request and the serious consequences that a resolution of those questions could have for taxpayer privacy.”

The same day, former White House personnel security director Carl Kline failed to show up for a scheduled deposition. The House Oversight and Reform Committee subpoenaed Kline after one of his former subordinates said some people in the Trump administration were granted security clearances despite concerns. Committee Chairman Elijah Cummings, D-Md., said he and other lawmakers were considering scheduling a vote to hold Kline in contempt of Congress. Trump said in an interview published Tuesday in The Washington Post that he doesn’t want former or current aides testifying in Congress, “where it’s very partisan—obviously very partisan.”