Rep. Kevin Brady warned that the public release of former President Donald Trump’s tax returns could lead to similar disclosures about Supreme Court justices.
Representative Kevin Brady of Texas on Tuesday warned that the public release of former President Donald Trump’s tax returns would let loose a « dangerous new political weapon » that could be used against U.S. Supreme Court justices and private citizens alike.
Some people took to social media later Tuesday to suggest that they would like to see Supreme Court justices’ tax returns.
Brady made his remarks during a Tuesday afternoon press conference held before a U.S. House Ways and Means Committee meeting. Committee members were expected to discuss the proposed release of Trump’s tax returns during the meeting, which closed to the public shortly after it began.
Brady, the committee’s Republican leader, began his remarks by saying the proposed release would mark « unprecedented action » that he said « will jeopardize the right of every American to be protected from political targeting by Congress. »
Brady said he and other Republicans were not concerned with whether Trump should have released his tax returns while running for president, as many presidential candidates before him did, or whether his tax returns were accurate.
« Our concern is that, if taken, this committee action will set a terrible precedent that unleashes a dangerous new political weapon that reaches far beyond the former president and overturns decades of privacy protections for average Americans that have existed since the Watergate reforms, » Brady said.
