House Democrats sue the Treasury Department for Trump's tax returns

House Democrats have officially filed a lawsuit against the Treasury Department over its refusal to provide them with President Trump's tax returns, The New York Times reports.

Democrats on the House Ways and Means Committee had previously issued a subpoena for Trump's tax returns, but the Treasury Department, led by Secretary Steven Mnuchin, refused to comply. In a letter to Democrats, Mnuchin in May argued that this "unprecedented" demand "lacks legitimate legislative purpose." Democrats had requested six years of Trump's tax returns under a 1924 law that says the IRS "shall furnish" tax returns when requested by the House Ways and Means Committee.

Now, Democrats on the panel are suing the Trump administration to get their hands on these tax returns in a legal battle that The Washington Post notes may ultimately end up in the Supreme Court. The complaint accuses the defendants, including Mnuchin, of mounting "an extraordinary attack on the authority of Congress to obtain information need to conduct oversight," arguing Mnuchin and others in the Trump administration "gravely misunderstand the operative law."