U.S. House committee releases Trump tax returns, capping years-long battle

Release of Donald Trump's redacted returns for 2015 through 2020 caps a multi-year battle between the Republican former president and Democratic lawmakers

A Democratic-controlled U.S. House of Representatives committee released six years of former President Donald Trump's tax returns to the public on Friday in an extraordinary move days before Republicans are due to take control of the chamber.

Release of Mr. Trump's redacted returns for 2015 through 2020 caps a multi-year battle between the Republican former president and Democratic lawmakers that was settled only last month by the U.S. Supreme Court.

It is the latest blow for Mr. Trump, 76, who was impeached twice by the Democratic-led House only to be acquitted both times by the U.S. Senate, and now faces multiple legal woes as he mounts a 2024 reelection bid.

Earlier this month, the House committee investigating the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol by his supporters asked federal prosecutors to charge him with four crimes including obstruction and insurrection for his role in the deadly riot.

House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal requested the returns in 2019, arguing that Congress needed them to determine if legislation on presidential tax returns was warranted.

Republicans said the move could lead to the political weaponization of individual tax returns and warned that party members who take over the panel next month would face pressure to pursue a similar path against high-profile Democrats.

Mr. Trump, who took office in 2017, was the first presidential candidate in decades not to release his taxes. He sued the committee to try to keep them private but the U.S. high court ruled in the committee's favor.