NEW: Treausry's inspector general told lawmakers that the department was right to withhold Trump's tax returns from the House because DOJ instructed it not to.
The report emphasizes that the IG has no opinion on whether DOJ's judgment was correct.
The report emphasizes that the IG has no opinion on whether DOJ's judgment was correct.
Notably, this comes as a string of judges have quesitoned the validity of DOJ's Office of Legal Counsel guidance, noting it doesn't have the force of law.
But the Treasury IG says Mnuchin decided he was legally bound to adhere to OLC.
But the Treasury IG says Mnuchin decided he was legally bound to adhere to OLC.
Lawmakers have warned that this kind of reasoning ensures that if a president simply gets a compliant OLC to tailor opinions to their liking (and Trump certainly isn't the first), it will take months or years of litigation to overturn.
This is the inverse of what happened with Michael Atkinson:
-He sought to relay the whistleblower report to Congress but was stopped by higher-ups who obtained on OLC opinion rejecting his decision.
-But Atkinson ultimately informed Congress anyway.
-He sought to relay the whistleblower report to Congress but was stopped by higher-ups who obtained on OLC opinion rejecting his decision.
-But Atkinson ultimately informed Congress anyway.
NOTABLE: The Treasury IG Richard Delmar is an acting official, much like Glenn Fine, and just witnessed his colleague get abruptly removed from his acting position two days ago.
