Thread by @marty_lederman

1/ The real shocker in the OLC opinion on the tax-return subpoena--the serious threat to Congress's crucial oversight role--is not OLC's conclusion that W&M's stated justification ("we need to investigate how the IRS audits presidents") is pretextual, ...

2/ ... but instead the opinion's assertion that what it (rightly) identifies as the *real* (or at least the principal) reasons for the subpoena *are illegitimate.* The key is footnote 19, listing the many reasons House members have articulated ...

3/ ... for why they *do* want to see the returns--namely, to discover and expose to the public Trump's potential conflicts of interest and ties to foreign nations.

According to OLC, all of the following are *illegitimate* reasons for the House to obtain the tax returns:

4/ -- to “help protect against violations of the Emoluments Clause of the Constitution and conflicts of interest, including with foreign adversaries such as Russia”;

5/ -- to "make sure the president and his family are not hiding financial ties that could cause conflicts in [his] decision-making" and “to gain a more complete understanding of how tax reform will benefit President Trump and his vast business empire”

6/ -- to "help those investigating Russian influence in the 2016 election”; assess whether "the Russians have on Donald Trump politically, personally, financially and "help the American people better understand the extent of Trump’s financial ties to Putin’s Russia"

7/ and

-- to assess "concerns about recent actions by the Chinese government in relation to the Trump Organization.”

According to OLC, because these are the *real* reasons the House wants the returns, the subpoena is beyond its oversight authorities!

8/ In this respect the OLC opinion is of a piece with Trump's brief in Mazars--it's a fundamental attack on the power of Congress to investigate and expose, to itself and the public, whether and how the POTUS's duty of undivided loyalty to the public interest may be compromised.

9/ I think it's a category mistake to focus upon, and defend, the W&M's "IRS oversight" justification, about which OLC is basically correct: even if it's not pretextual, it's certainly not what's driving the train, either, for there are much more important matters at stake.

10/ The real scandal is Footnote 19--i.e., what Trump & OLC think Congress is constitutionally forbidden from investigating.

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