Trump Administration

Floor Speech

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Mr. SCHUMER. One final matter today. Today, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in a case that will determine whether the President can block access to his tax returns and other financial documents.

You may not think this is related to COVID, but in a certain sense, it is. In a sense, the case about the President's tax returns has something in common with the President's response to coronavirus: President Trump wants to hide the truth. He wants to hide the truth about coronavirus and the depth of the problem and how we deal with it. He wants to hide the truth and not release his tax returns.

For 40 years, every President has disclosed his personal financial information to avoid even the perception of impropriety or self- dealing, but this President has used every avenue to deny such transparency. What is President Trump hiding in his taxes? The President is not an ordinary citizen anymore; he is President of the United States. The American people have a right to see how he has dealt with his taxes. President Trump has an obligation to show them. Why has President Trump fought so hard to deny the American people this information?

If this Court wants to prove, at least in one step, that they are not highly political and don't always side with President Trump, I hope they will step up to the plate and rule that the President does not have the unilateral power to shield his tax returns from the American people. On this issue, like so many others, the American people deserve the truth--not what the President wants us to believe but the truth.

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