Trump Spokesperson Blasts 'Lameduck' Dems Celebrating Tax Records 'Triumph'

Former President Donald Trump's week has potentially turned even more troubling, with House Democrats voting to publicly release his tax records one day after referring him for criminal charges related to the January 6 Capitol attack.

The House Ways and Means Committee, which remains in Democratic hands until Republicans take control of the House next month, voted 24-16 along party lines on Tuesday to release years of the former president's tax returns. The records had been the subject of a protracted legal battle that ended late last month when the Supreme Court decided to release the returns to Congress.

In a statement obtained by Newsweek soon after the committee vote, Trump spokesperson Steven Cheung warned that the "injustice" of the impending records release posed a threat to "all Americans." Cheung demanded that Democrats instead release the tax records of Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and her "weirdo husband Paul," who is currently recovering from an October attack by a hammer-wielding home invader.

"This unprecedented leak by lameduck Democrats is proof they are playing a political game they are losing," Cheung said. "If they are so hell-bent on releasing President Trump's tax returns—which show he built a very successful business and created numerous lucrative assets throughout his career—they should release the tax returns of Nancy Pelosi and her weirdo husband Paul to see how much dirty money they have made from selling out America and jeopardizing our national security."

"Alongside their insider trading and shady stock deals, Congress needs to legitimately investigate their self-enriching financial scams," he continued. "If this injustice can happen to President Trump, it can happen to all Americans without cause."

Newsweek has reached out to Pelosi's office for comment.

Democrats celebrated the decision to release the records. Representative Bill Pascrell, Jr., a Ways and Means Committee member who last week said that he had been chasing Trump's taxes "for six years like Captain Ahab," argued that the coming release was a "triumph" that proved the former president was not "above the law."

"After six years of pushing I just voted to release donald trump's tax returns," Pascrell tweeted. "This is bigger than one crooked man. This is a triumph for idea that no one person is above the law."

"Donald Trump had big deductions, big credits, and big losses—but seldom a big tax bill," tweeted Representative Lloyd Doggett, who also serves on the committee. "Almost five years since my first motion to obtain Trump's tax returns, some of them will soon be public."

"Every president has released their tax returns, except for one: Donald Trump," tweeted Representative Jerrold Nadler, outgoing chair of the House Judiciary Committee. "We will soon find out what he is hiding and why he won't share them with the American people."

Trump's tax returns will be released in a redacted format that will omit personal information like Social Security numbers and banking information. The exact date of the release is unclear.

Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal said that the records would reveal that Trump had not been audited by the IRS during the first two years of his presidency.

On Monday, the House January 6 committee recommended that the Department of Justice criminally charge the former president regarding his January 6 activities.

The panel's suggested charges include conspiracy to defraud the United States and inciting an insurrection, which could result in Trump being disqualified from ever holding federal office again.