CNN "The Situation Room" - Transcript: Interview with Rep. Brendan Boyle
Interview
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
BLITZER: We will see what happens.
Jim Acosta at the White House, thank you very much.
Joining us now, Congressman Brendan Boyle. He is a Democrat. He serves on the Ways and Means Committee that's demanding the president's tax returns.
Congressman, thanks so much for coming in.
REP. BRENDAN BOYLE (D), PENNSYLVANIA: Thank you.
BLITZER: So your committee chairman, Richard Neal, has just issued subpoenas for the president's tax returns, six years, personal business tax returns.
How quickly is this going to go to court?
[18:10:02]
BOYLE: Well, unfortunately, I'm not exactly optimistic about the Trump administration cooperating with any of these subpoenas.
And the substance of this issue is important, but it's beyond the current context of this individual president and this administration. What we're really talking about is whether or not we're going to consider Congress of the United States, the first article of the Constitution, a co-equal branch of government.
This unprecedented obstruction from this administration is really threatening the ability of Congress to perform an essential function of Congress, and that is oversight of the executive.
So I think that, when Chairman Nadler talked about this being a constitutional crisis, that got some attention. I don't think that was hyperbole or exaggerated rhetoric. That is how serious these issues are.
BLITZER: The legal argument that the Treasury Secretary, Steve Mnuchin, is making and denying your committee chairman's initial request, he says that your committed has no -- quote -- "legitimate legislative purpose for this request."
BOYLE: That's not...
BLITZER: So what is -- what is your legitimate legislative purpose? And will it hold up in court?
BOYLE: First, let's be clear. IRS Code Section 6103 does not give either the IRS commissioner or the secretary of the treasury any discretion in this matter. There simply is none.
So, they right now are in violation of the law. And, specifically, Secretary Mnuchin is in violation of the law by not complying. That's number one.
Number two, there is -- as Chairman Neal demonstrated in his letter released today, there is a legitimate legislative purpose. Going back decades, every president automatically every single year is under an automatic audit.
We, as the Ways and Means Committee of the House of Representatives, have the ability, indeed, the responsibility, to make sure that those audits are being performed, as they should up to the law.
There was already, by the way, a congressional hearing into this matter some months ago. So, A, Mnuchin doesn't have the distraction to deny this request anyway and ask for a legislative purpose.
But even if he did, there is clearly a legislative purpose.
BLITZER: On another subpoena, the House Judiciary Committee, the chairman, Jerry Nadler, they voted, the Democrats voted to hold the attorney general, Bill Barr, in contempt.
But now Nadler is offering him another chance before there's a full House vote on that subpoena to hold him in contempt, a full House vote. How long is this going to take?
BOYLE: That, I don't know. But I really hope that the attorney general cooperates with this.
We have already had the Judiciary Committee vote finding him in contempt. I would be willing to vote in the full House to also find him contempt if he didn't comply with the subpoena.
But, again, it would be in the best interest of both branches of the government, the executive and the legislative, if the attorney general would follow the law, comply with the subpoena, because, again, what is at stake here is actually more important than the individuals that we're talking about.
There is a greater principle regarding our Constitution that is at stake.
BLITZER: Congressman Boyle, thanks so much for coming in.
BOYLE: Thank you.
BLITZER: Brendan Boyle of Pennsylvania.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Source