The nightmare scenario for Democrats on Trump’s corruption

Op-ed by Greg Sargent @ WashingtonPost.com, May 7

[....] Democrats on Ways and Means now have two leading options, according to Steve Rosenthal, a senior fellow at the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center.

Democrats can subpoena the Treasury Department for the returns, or they can sue to force the department to comply with the law, or both, Rosenthal tells me.

But either of those two paths would likely require a lengthy court battle — one that Democrats might lose before the Supreme Court.

The legal case for getting the returns appears strong [....]

But that doesn’t mean the legal case for getting them is airtight. Rosenthal says that in either case, the Supreme Court could side with Trump, by arguing that Democrats “are applying the statute unconstitutionally.” [....]

Daniel Hemel, a professor at the University of Chicago Law School, agrees. He told me the court could rule that the statute “can’t sweep more broadly than Congress’ constitutional authority,” which “doesn’t include the power to investigate except for legitimate legislative purposes.”

To be sure, Democrats could win this battle, both experts said, because they actually do have multiple legitimate purposes for getting the returns. But this is hardly guaranteed, particularly with this court. And it could take months or years [....]

Trump asserts executive privilege over Mueller report; House panel holds Barr in contempt

Nadler:  "we are now in a constitutional crisis"

By Rachel Bade, Carol D. Leonnig & Matt Zapotosky @ WashingtonPost.com, May 8 at 7:34 PM

President Trump asserted executive privilege over special counsel Robert S. Mueller III’s report Wednesday, his first use of the executive authority in the ongoing constitutional clash with Congress that the courts ultimately may resolve.

The administration’s move to deny Congress — and the broader public — Mueller’s complete report from the nearly two-year investigation came just hours before the House Judiciary Committee voted along party lines to hold Attorney General William P. Barr in contempt of Congress for ignoring a congressional subpoena. 

“We have talked for a long time about approaching a constitutional crisis; we are now in a constitutional crisis,” House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) said moments after the contempt vote. “Now is the time of testing whether we can keep this type of republic, or whether this republic is destined to change into a different, more tyrannical form of government.”

[....]

The White House’s invocation of the presidential secrecy prerogative stood in stark contrast to Trump’s frequent boast of “total exoneration” from the Mueller report. [....]

Democrats could vote as early as next week on the Barr contempt citation, according to an individual familiar with internal discussions who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the timeline has not been finalized. That vote would enable House counsels to take Barr to civil court and try to persuade a judge to force him to release Mueller’s evidence, one of many high-stakes legal fights between the executive and legislative branches. 

Democrats are also preparing to sue the Trump administration for refusing to turn over Trump’s tax returns and potentially former Trump aides like ex-White House counsel Donald McGahn if they refuse to comply with subpoenas [....]

Mehta, a Barack Obama appointee, will preside over the case...