Fight escalates over Trump's tax returns

Democrats and supporters of their effort say the arguments Trump’s team is making against the request lack merit.

They argue that Neal has provided a legitimate legislative purpose, with his letter mentioning the Ways and Means Committee’s interest in legislative proposals and oversight relating to how the IRS audits presidents.

They also said the Supreme Court has rejected the idea that an audit is similar to a judicial proceeding.

That ruling “makes sense, because audits lack the traditional features of a trial (multiple parties arguing adversarily in front of an adjudicator, a right to cross-examine witnesses, and so on),” University of Chicago assistant law professor Daniel Hemel said in an essay on Medium.