WASHINGTON — The Treasury Department’s inspector general is investigating how Treasury handled a congressional request for President Trump’s tax returns, which Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has refused to turn over.
The investigation is in response to a request from Representative Richard E. Neal of Massachusetts, the Democratic chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, who has been leading congressional efforts to access Mr. Trump’s financial information. Mr. Trump is locked in a legal battle with House Democrats over the fate of his tax returns and Mr. Mnuchin, one of his closest aides, has said that the House demand is not legitimate because it lacks a true legislative purpose.
“Chairman Neal has asked Treasury O.I.G. to inquire into the process by which the department received, evaluated, and responded to the committee’s request for federal tax information,” said Rich Delmar, Treasury’s acting inspector general. “We are undertaking that inquiry.”
The inquiry comes amid new concerns about political interference in the handling of Mr. Trump’s tax returns, which are under mandatory audit because he is president. An Internal Revenue Service whistle-blower filed a complaint over the summer claiming that senior Treasury officials tried to exert improper influence over the audit.
The contents of the complaint remain unclear but its existence could support the argument by House Democrats that their interest in examining the presidential audit process has merit.