Mnuchin And Mulvaney Face 5 Years In Prison For Blocking Demand For Trump's Taxes
Mnuchin may not be aware of the law, and maybe AG Bill Barr didn't either, but another provision of the Internal Revenue Code could send them to prison without passing "Go" or collecting $200.
Beware, Mick Mulvaney and Steve Mnuchin. Both officials could find themselves ensnared by an obscure provision of the Internal Revenue Code that requires federal employees to fully comply with all revenue laws of the United States or face termination, a fine, and a prison sentence of five years.
David Cay Johnston writes for The Daily Beast*, "There are no qualifiers in Section 6103 that shield Trump from delivering, in confidence, his tax returns to Congress. No wiggle room at all." This is because the wording of section 6103 is clear: The tax returns demanded by Rep. Richard Neal shall be provided. It isn't a question. Shall is shall, with no equivocation.
But wait! There's more. And it's bad for the likes of Mick Mulvaney, Steve Mnuchin, Bill Barr and more.
Another provision in our tax code, Section 7214(a), provides that “Any officer or employee of the United States acting in connection with any revenue law of the United States… who with intent to defeat the application of any provision of this title fails to perform any of the duties of his office or employment… shall be dismissed from office or discharged from employment and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not more than $10,000, or imprisoned not more than 5 years or both.”
All that Neal must do is make a request in writing that falls within the committee’s tax law and IRS oversight duties. Neal’s carefully articulated reasoning and requests for specific tax returns and related tax information in his April 3 letter easily meets that standard.
Alrighty then. They'd best step up their game and produce those tax returns, because otherwise a lot of high ranking officials are going to find themselves fired, fined, and jailed.
Lock them ALL the fck up.
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