The Washington Post - 23.08.2019

FRIDAY, AUGUST 23 , 2019. THE WASHINGTON POST EZ SU A

Economy & Business

BY JEFF STEIN,

RACHAEL BADE

AND JACQUELINE ALEMANY

House Democrats appear in-
creasingly unlikely to secure Pres-
ident Trump’s tax returns before
the 2020 presidential election, ac-
cording to interviews with legal
experts and several lawmakers, as
resistance from the Trump admin-
istration has stymied the party’s
efforts to obtain his personal fi-
nancial records.
Several Democrats involved in
oversight see a long path to getting
a final court decision, even if they
expect to win in the end. Trevor N.
McFadden, a Trump-appointed
judge, will hear the case first, and
any decision is likely to be ap-
pealed to higher courts, up to the
Supreme Court.
For it to be resolved by fall 2020
would amount to Democrats
drawing an improbable legal “per-
fect straight,” according to Harry
Sandick, former assistant U.S. at-
torney for the Southern District of
New York.
House Ways and Means Com-
mittee Chair Richard E. Neal (D-
Mass.), whose panel is leading the
pursuit of Trump’s returns, has
also thus far opted not to pursue

Trump’s state returns despite a

new law in New York providing

the authority to do so.

Neal has stressed that his law-

suit, which was filed after the

Trump administration refused a

subpoena for the tax returns, is

motivated by the need to conduct

oversight of the administration

rather than politics. Neal has led a

careful probe for the president’s

records, relying closely on legal

counsel, although he has faced

internal criticism from lawmakers

for moving too slowly.

This week, attorneys for the

House panel asked the judge to

expedite the case. But even some

Neal allies are growing pessimistic.

“It’s hard to predict; we’re going

to push” to get the returns before

the 2020 election, said Rep. Daniel

Kildee (Mich.) of the Ways and

Means Committee, who defended

Neal and says Democrats should

continue pursuing Trump’s tax re-

turns after the election. “It’s just,

given the amount of time it takes

for cases to move — unless the

court makes a decision that these

arguments are not complicated,

and they’re going to expedite — it’s

going to be tough. ”

Another House Democrat in-

volved in oversight, who spoke on

the condition of anonymity to talk

candidly, said of the case stretch-

ing beyond the election: “That’s

exactly my fear.... This painstak-

ingly slow process may prove det-

rimental to us getting the returns

by next November. ”

A spokesman for Neal declined

to comment, but the chairman has

emphasized for months that he

did not want to rush and possibly

create a sloppy case that would be

thrown out by a federal judge.

Several other Democratic law-

makers and aides, including Rep.

Bill Pascrell Jr. (D-N.J.), defended

Neal’s strategy.

The uncertain timing of the

case increases the odds that

Trump will vie for reelection with-

out divulging his personal tax re-

turns, as presidents and presiden-

tial contenders have done since

the 1970s. The leading Democratic

presidential candidates have re-

leased their tax returns.

Trump repeatedly promised to

release his returns while running

for president in 2016, saying he

could not do so at the time because

he was under audit.

Trump has since argued that

the tax returns should no longer

be a matter of public concern be-

cause he won the 2016 election. A

1924 law explicitly gives the chair

of the House tax-writing panel au-

thority to receive the documents.

The Trump administration has

argued that Democrats’ request

for Trump’s tax returns amounts

to an effort to embarrass him for

political gain, stating that the re-

quest also raises concerns of

weaponizing the Internal Rev-

enue Service for partisan aims.

The inability to secure the re-

turns has disappointed support-

ers of impeachment, who have

begun looking to the courts to

move their investigations along

after Trump stonewalled their

probes.

Internally, some Democrats say

that if they are going to impeach

the president, they have to do so

before the end of the year — but

think that to initiate proceedings,

they need more-significant find-

ings that will move public senti-

ment in favor of ousting Trump.

Meanwhile, there’s been a re-

alignment of sorts regarding over-

sight priorities, according to one

official deeply involved in the in-

vestigations of the president.

While Democrats thought for

months that the tax return request

would be met quickly and easily

pave the way for oversight victo-

ries, some of them are now looking

to other court cases to secure wins

sooner. Some Democrats, for ex-

ample, say judges will soon rule in

their favor upholding subpoenas

for Trump’s financial information

by the Financial Services and

Oversight panels. They don’t ex-

pect those questions to go all the

way to the Supreme Court.

Most House Democrats defend

Neal’s strategy for pursuing the

returns, as have several independ-

ent legal experts. But the compli-

cations also have triggered some

griping about Neal, as legal ex-

perts and a handful of Democratic

lawmakers have questioned his

strategy for securing Trump’s fed-

eral returns.

Neal’s discomfort in confront-

ing the Trump administration has

been apparent in internal meet-

ings of the Democrats on the Ways

and Means Committee, according

to the House Democrat and an aide

to a House lawmaker on the com-

mittee who spoke on the condition

of anonymity to talk candidly.

“You could just tell from his

body language and everything else

since then that he has no enthusi-

asm for dealing with the tax re-

turns issue,” said one House Dem-

ocratic lawmaker.

Pascrell said that he and Neal

have not “agreed on a number of

decisions” and that he asked the

chairman “questions about the ex-

pedience and the delays I saw.” But

Pascrell defended Neal’s approach

overall.

“That path was chosen according

to counsel because we thought it

would be the best way to uphold the

law and make sure we got the tax

returns,” Pascrell said.

Kildee added: “I understand peo-

ple’s frustration.... [But] he’s done

this by the book because he knows

it’s more [important] to get this

right than to get it 30 days faster.”

Some legal experts also have

questioned Neal for not yet re-

questing Trump’s New York tax

returns. On July 8, New York ap-

proved legislation allowing the

committee to request and receive

Trump’s state returns.

For 15 days after that legislation

passed, Neal could have had

Trump’s state returns on a direct

flight from Albany to Washington,

said Daniel Hemel, a law professor

at the University of Chicago. But

that window closed after Trump’s

personal attorneys sued New

York. On Aug. 1, a federal judge

ordered New York not to release

those returns while the lawsuit is

pending.

There was no communication

over that period between House

Democrats and New York lawmak-

ers, according to a source who

spoke on the condition of anonym-

ity to discuss internal negotiations.

“There was a clear window when

Congress could have taken advan-

tage of this legislation” that is now

closed, said state Sen. Brad Hoyl-

man (D), the New York legislator

who wrote the law. “Their strategy

around trying to obtain Trump’s

taxes has left a lot of state Demo-

crats scratching their heads. ”

Neal has said pursuing the New

York returns could undermine the

House’s argument in seeking the

federal returns, which would pro-

vide a wider look into the presi-

dent’s financial dealings.

Neal has never promised to re-

solve the tax returns case by a

certain date. He has said the com-

mittee had to be deliberate to im-

prove its odds of securing the re-

turns, carefully constructing a case

to demonstrate it had no choice

but to sue the administration.

Neal has also consistently

stressed that his focus is on review-

ing the IRS’s program for auditing

the president and vice president.

“This is an example of some on

the Democratic left being unreal-

istic,” said former congressman

Barney Frank (D-Mass.), a long-

time colleague of Neal’s.

Democrats also quickly passed

through the House legislation re-

quiring the president to disclose

his tax returns, but that bill died in

the Republican-controlled Senate.

“We had no way of anticipating

how obstructive Trump would be

in his personal capacity and as

President,” a senior Democratic

House aide, who spoke on the

condition of anonymity to candid-

ly address the party’s thinking,

said in an email.

[email protected]

[email protected]

[email protected]

House unlikely to get Trump tax returns before 2020 vote

DOW 26,252.

UP 49.51, 0.2% 

NASDAQ 7,991.

DOWN 28.82, 0.4% 

S&P 500 2,922.

DOWN 1.48, 0.1% 

GOLD $1,508.

DOWN $7.20, 0.5% 

CRUDE OIL $55.

DOWN $0.33, 0.6% 

10-YEAR TREASURY

DOWN $2.30 PER $1,000, 1.61%

YIELD

CURRENCIES

$1=106.43 YEN;

EURO=$1.

WORLD ECONOMY

ECB considers options

to address slowdown

The European Central Bank is
weighing a broad package of
stimulus measures, including an
interest-rate cut and new bond
purchases, to counter worries
that economic growth is slowing
more than expected amid U.S.-
China trade tensions.
The written account of the
July 25 policy meeting released
Thursday cites discussion that a
package “such as the combination
of rate cuts and asset purchases”
would be “more effective” than
any one measure introduced
piecemeal.
Many analysts expect the bank
to add stimulus at its Sept. 12
meeting. Both the ECB and the
Federal Reserve in the United
States have shifted their stance
toward more stimulus as worries
about the global economy have
grown in recent weeks.
The ECB said in its July 25
policy statement that it was
“determined to act” to raise
inflation and was ready to use “all
its instruments” if things don’t
improve. The euro zone grew only
0.2 percent in the second quarter

while the largest member,

Germany, shrank and may

already be in a recession.

Slowing global trade has

affected euro-zone

manufacturers amid uncertainty

about the outcome of U.S.-China

trade talks and whether more

tariffs will be imposed. Other

head winds come from less

growth in China and from

structural changes in the

automobile industry.

Additional reasons for slow

growth: The ECB has pointed to

lack of progress on pro-business

reforms that would eliminate red

tape and costs to companies. It

has also urged governments that

can afford it to spend more on

things that support economic

growth such as infrastructure.

Germany has insisted on running

budget surpluses despite low or

even negative borrowing costs,

and despite urging from the

International Monetary Fund and

the U.S. Treasury to spend more.

— Associated Press

BANKING INDUSTRY

Wells Fargo settles

Navajo Nation lawsuit

Wells Fargo will pay the Navajo

Nation $6.5 million to settle a

lawsuit over “predatory and

unlawful practices” by the bank,

the Native American tribe said

Thursday.

The Navajo Nation sued Wells

Fargo in federal and tribal courts

in 2017, alleging the San

Francisco-based bank had opened

unauthorized accounts for

vulnerable tribe members as part

of the potentially millions of fake

accounts opened by bank

employees nationwide.

Wells Fargo said in a statement

that the agreement demonstrates

the bank’s “commitment to make

things right regarding past sales

practices issues.”

The settlement with the Navajo

Nation followed a $575 million

deal in 2018 with U.S. states over

claims that Wells Fargo opened

phony customer accounts and

improperly referred and charged

customers for financial products.

The settlement comes as Wells

Fargo continues its attempt to

overcome the fallout from its

earlier practices.

Last year, the bank said it had

“reestablished” itself, but it has

continued to face harsh criticism

from politicians and consumer

advocates.

— Reuters

ALSO IN BUSINESS

HP Inc. said Thursday that chief

executive Dion Weisler, 52, is

stepping down after nearly four

years in the role to attend to a

family health matter. Enrique

Lores, a 30-year veteran with the

company and currently president

of HP’s imaging, printing and

solutions business, will take over

the CEO position on Nov. 1. Lores,

53, who started as an engineering

intern with the Palo Alto, Calif.-

based company, played a role in

the splitting of Hewlett-Packard

Co. into two publicly listed

companies.

The Federal Aviation

Administration plans next month

to test how pilots with about one

year of experience flying Boeing

737 jets handle new software on

the Max model, four people with

knowledge of the matter said. The

tests indicate that the FAA is

making progress in the re-approval

process of the Max for commercial

flight. Boeing’s latest 737 narrow-

body model, the Max, was

grounded worldwide in March

after two fatal crashes in Indonesia

and Ethiopia.

China snapped up a small volume

of U.S. soybeans last week after

pledging to halt purchases of

American farm products because

of the escalating trade war

between Washington and Beijing,

U.S. Department of Agriculture

data showed Thursday. The

world’s largest soybean importer

struck deals from Aug. 9 to 15 to

buy 9,589 tons for delivery in the

current marketing year and

66,000 tons for the next year, the

data showed.

COMING TODAY

10 a.m.: Commerce Department

releases new-home sales for July.

— From news services

DIGEST

JENS BUETTNER/ASSOCIATED PRESS

A worker controls a cartridge holder for an insulin syringe at a

production plant in Germany. As insulin prices have increased across

the United States, several Democratic presidential candidates have

called for sweeping changes to the pharmaceutical industry.

PRAKASH MATHEMA/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE/GETTY IMAGES

A girl waits for customers to buy grains to feed pigeons Thursday in Kathmandu, Nepal. Nepal’s Ministry of Culture, Tourism

and Civil Aviation said this month it fell short of government goals for the number of tourists and foreign exchange earnings.

In Kathmandu, waiting for more visitors