Trump Issues 'Dangerous' Warning After Tax Returns Released

Former President Donald Trump issued a warning to Democrats in response to the long-awaited release of his tax returns, reminding them that it's a "dangerous two-way street."

On Friday, House Democrats released six years of Trump's tax records after years of legal battles. The move comes just a week after two congressional reports found that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) failed to audit the former president during the first two years of his presidency and began doing so only after House Democrats began oversight proceedings in 2019.

In a statement sent to Newsweek, Trump warned that House Democrats "should have never" publicized the tax records—some of the most privately held documents in the nation—and that the U.S. Supreme Court "should have never approved it."

"It's going to lead to horrible things for so many people," Trump said. "The great USA divide will now grow far worse. The radical, left Democrats have weaponized everything, but remember, that is a dangerous two-way street!"

Congress has the power to obtain tax records, although lawmakers rarely do so. For decades, presidential candidates and officeholders have released their tax returns out of transparency and accountability. However, Trump remained steadfast in his refusal to release his returns, both as a presidential candidate and as president, which catalyzed the Democrats' push to obtain those records.

Using an inquiry into the IRS and its policy to audit presidents and vice presidents, Democrats were able to obtain returns from 2015 to 2020.

The data released in last week's reports showed that Trump paid $1.1 in federal income taxes during his first three years as president, but that he paid no taxes in 2020 as he reported a loss of $4.8 million.

On Friday, Trump said the thousands of pages of documents show "how proudly successful I have been and how I have been able to use depreciation and various other tax deductions as an incentive for creating thousands of jobs and magnificent structures and enterprises."

Republicans have echoed Trump's warning that the release of his tax returns will open floodgates, and cautioned that doing so would lead to public pressure for GOP lawmakers to go after the tax information of Democrats, like President Joe Biden's son, Hunter, once they take control of the House next week.

Representative Kevin Brady, the top Republican on the Ways and Means Committee that released the records, warned in a Friday statement that publicizing Trump's tax returns "will make American politics even more divisive and disheartening."

"In the long run, Democrats will come to regret it," Brady said.