House Democrats officially requested six years of Trump's personal and business tax returns from the Internal Revenue Service this week, giving the tax authority until April 10 to produce the documents. Trump's lawyers are battling the request, saying that their release could set a "dangerous precedent." It is a long-standing tradition for presidents to release their tax returns; however, no president has been compelled to do so previously. Meanwhile, reports emerged that Trump asked Senate leader Mitch McConnell to prioritize the confirmation of his chief counsel of the IRS appointment earlier this year - perhaps in order to secure a favorable outcome.
The New York Times published a report earlier this week containing quotes from members of Robert Mueller's investigative team, who expressed disappointment with the way Attorney General William Barr handled the report. The sources told reporters that they uncovered significant evidence of Trump's obstruction, as well as other malfeasance, that Barr downplayed in his report to Congress so that he could clear Trump. They also expressed their frustration that Barr didn't use the summaries they prepared of each section of their report. Trump dismissed the article, saying that it was likely false and that the newspaper was often a source of lies, despite the fact that the report was confirmed by two other outlets.
Given the controversy over the report, the House Judiciary Committee has approved the use of subpoenas to access a full, unredacted copy. They will only use this power if Attorney General Barr does not provide the report and supporting documents after negotiations. Although Trump initially said it "wouldn't bother [him] at all" were the report to be released, he went on the offensive this week, attacking congressional Democrats who are trying to obtain his report.
Michael Cohen offered Democrats access to 14 million files that could have "significant value" to congressional investigators. Cohen is asking that they persuade the Southern District of New York to reduce or delay his 3-year prison sentence to allow him to review the files he was "only recently able to access" on a hard drive. Given Cohen's reputation, it's unclear if Democrats will take the bait.
Trump backed down from his threat to close the southern border this week, instead saying that he was issuing Mexico a "warning" to stop "the drugs" or else he'd close the border in a year. He also visited the border.
Trump intends to nominate Herman Cain for a seat on the Federal Reserve Board. Cain ran for the 2012 GOP president nomination, but dropped out after sexual harassment allegations. Cain also co-founded a pro-Trump super-political action committee, America Fighting Back PAC. Onlookers are worried that Trump is trying to stack the board will loyalists who will do his bidding, rather than that of Chairman Jerome Powell, with whom Trump has had multiple disagreements.
Trump abandoned his plans to dismantle the Affordable Care Act a week after announcing that his administration agreed with a judge's ruling that the entire health care law should be eliminated. In a string of morning tweets, Trump promised that the "vote will be taken right after" the 2020 election "when Republicans hold the Senate and win back the House."
