A draft memo, written last fall by an Internal Revenue Service attorney, contradicts the Treasury Department’s justification for denying House Democrats’ demands for access to President Trump’s tax returns. 

Trump has refused to turn over his tax returns but has not invoked executive privilege. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has instead denied the returns by arguing there is no legislative purpose for demanding them.

But according to the IRS memo, which has not been previously reported, the disclosure of tax returns to the committee “is mandatory, requiring the Secretary to disclose returns, and return information, requested by the tax-writing Chairs.”