Declaration Filed Supporting Summary Judgment in Trump Return Case

COMMITTEE ON WAYS AND MEANS, UNITED STATES HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,
Plaintiff,
v.
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY, et al.,
Defendants.

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

DECLARATION OF TODD B. TATELMAN IN SUPPORT OF PLAINTIFF COMMITTEE ON WAYS AND MEANS' MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT

I, Todd B. Tatelman, declare as follows:

1. I am the Deputy General Counsel, Office of General Counsel, U.S. House of Representatives, counsel for Plaintiff Committee on Ways and Means, United States House of Representatives, in this action.

2. I make this declaration in support of the Plaintiff Committee on Ways and Means' Motion for Summary Judgment.

3. Attached hereto as Exhibit A is a true and accurate copy of the letter from Richard E. Neal, chairman of the Committee on Ways and Means in the U.S. House of Representatives (Committee), to Charles P. Rettig, Commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) (April 3, 2019).

4. Attached hereto as Exhibit B is a true and accurate copy of a press release issued by Chairman Neal (Apr. 3, 2019).

5. Attached hereto as Exhibit C is a true and accurate copy of the letter from William S. Consovoy to Brent J. McIntosh, General Counsel of the U.S. Department of the Treasury (Treasury) (Apr. 5, 2019).

6. Attached hereto as Exhibit D is a true and accurate copy of the letter from Secretary Mnuchin to Chairman Neal (Apr. 10, 2019).

7. Attached hereto as Exhibit E is a true and accurate copy of the letter from Chairman Neal to Commissioner Rettig (Apr. 13, 2019).

8. Attached hereto as Exhibit F is a true and accurate copy of the letter from Mr. Consovoy to Mr. McIntosh (Apr. 15, 2019).

9. Attached hereto as Exhibit G is a true and accurate copy of the letter from Secretary Mnuchin to Chairman Neal (Apr. 23, 2019).

10. Attached hereto as Exhibit H is a true and accurate copy of the letter from Commissioner Rettig to Chairman Neal (Apr. 23, 2019).

11. Attached hereto as Exhibit I is a true and accurate copy of the letter from Secretary Mnuchin to Chairman Neal (May 6, 2019).

12. Attached hereto as Exhibit J is a true and accurate copy of the letter from Commissioner Rettig to Chairman Neal (May 6, 2019).

13. Attached hereto as Exhibit K is a true and accurate copy of the letter from Chairman Neal to Commissioner Rettig and Secretary Mnuchin and an attached subpoena for Commissioner Rettig (May 10, 2019).

14. Attached hereto as Exhibit L is a true and accurate copy of the letter from Chairman Neal to Commissioner Rettig and Secretary Mnuchin and an attached subpoena for Secretary Mnuchin (May 10, 2019).

15. Attached hereto as Exhibit M is a true and accurate copy of a press release issued by Chairman Neal (May 10, 2019).

16. Attached hereto as Exhibit N is a true and accurate copy of the letter from Secretary Mnuchin to Chairman Neal (May 17, 2019).

17. Attached hereto as Exhibit 0 is a true and accurate copy of the letter from Commissioner Rettig to Chairman Neal (May 17, 2019)

18. Attached hereto as Exhibit P is a true and accurate copy of the letter from Chairman Neal to Commissioner Rettig and Secretary Mnuchin (June 28, 2019).

19. Attached hereto as Exhibit Q is a true and accurate copy of the tweet posted by President Donald J. Trump (Feb 27, 2016, 7:12 AM).

20. Attached hereto as Exhibit R is a true and accurate copy of the article Donald Trump says IRS audits could be tied to being a 'strong Christian' by Jenna Johnson in The Washington Post (Feb. 26, 2016).

21. Attached hereto as Exhibit S is a true and accurate copy of the article Trump Files 2017 Tax Return, Claims Automatic IRS Audit is 'Extremely Unfair' by Brendan Cole in Newsweek (Oct. 10, 2018).

22. Attached hereto as Exhibit T is a true and accurate copy of the article Trump Engaged in Suspect Tax Schemes as He Reaped Riches From His Father by David Barstow et al. in The New York Times (Oct. 2, 2018).

23. Attached hereto as Exhibit U is a true and accurate copy of the letter from Sheri A. Dillon and William F. Nelson, tax partners, Morgan Lewis, to Donald J. Trump, founder, The Trump Organization (Mar. 7, 2016).

24. Attached hereto as Exhibit V is a true and accurate copy of the article Donald Trump Tax Records Show He Could Have Avoided Taxes for Nearly Two Decades, The Times Found by David Barstow et al. in The New York Times (Oct. 1, 2016).

25. Attached hereto as Exhibit W is a true and accurate copy of the article Decade in the Red: Trump Tax Figures Show Over $1 Billion in Business Losses by Russ Buettner and Susanne Craig in The New York Times (May 8, 2019).

26. Attached hereto as Exhibit X is a true and accurate copy of the article How Loopholes Help Trump and Other Real Estate Moguls Avoid Taxes by Paul Sullivan in The New York Times (May 10, 2019)

27. Attached hereto as Exhibit Y is a true and accurate copy of the article How Donald Trump's Web of LLCs Obscures His Business Interests by Jean Eaglesham, Mark Maremont, and Lisa Schwartz in The Wall Street Journal (Dec. 8, 2016).

28. Attached hereto as Exhibit Z is a true and accurate copy of the article The Billion-Dollar Loophole by Peter Elkind in Fortune (Dec. 20, 2017).

29. Attached hereto as Exhibit AA is a true and accurate copy of the article Donald Trump's Donations Put Him in Line for Conservation Tax Breaks by Richard Rubin in The Wall Street Journal (Mar. 10, 2016, 10:41 PM).

30. Attached hereto as Exhibit BB is a true and accurate copy of the article Donald Trump Got a Big Break on 2005 Taxes by Richard Rubin in The Wall Street Journal (Mar. 17, 2016, 5:25 PM).

31. Attached hereto as Exhibit CC is a true and accurate copy of the article Making President Trump's Bed.' A Housekeeper Without Papers by Miriam Jordan in The New York Times (Dec. 6, 2018).

32. Attached hereto as Exhibit DD is a true and accurate copy of the article At Trump golf course, undocumented employees said they were sometimes told to work extra hours without pay by Joshua Partlow and David A. Fahrenthold in The Washington Post (Apr. 30, 2019, 5:06 pm).

33. Attached hereto as Exhibit EE is a true and accurate copy of the article Trump says he has 'brilliantly' used tax laws to his advantage by Lisa Hagen in The Hill (Oct. 3, 2016, 5:06 PM).

34. Attached hereto as Exhibit FF is a true and accurate copy of the tweet posted by President Trump (May 8, 2019, 3:56 AM).

35. Attached hereto as Exhibit GG is a true and accurate copy of the article Trump Defends $1.17 Billion in Losses as Just for 'Tax Purposes' by Eileen Sullivan in The New York Times (May 8, 2019).

36. Attached hereto as Exhibit HH is a true and accurate copy of the remarks by President Trump on Tax Reform at the White House (Nov. 29, 2017, 2:22 PM).

37. Attached hereto as Exhibit II is a true and accurate copy of the remarks by President Trump in Press Conference After Midterm Elections at the White House (Nov. 7, 2018, 11:57 AM).

38. Attached hereto as Exhibit JJ is a true and accurate copy of the article IRS commissioner: No rule against releasing Trump's tax returns while under audit by Orion Rummier in Axios (Apr. 10, 2019).

39. Attached hereto as Exhibit KK is a true and accurate copy of the transcript of the hearing before the Subcommittee on Oversight of the House Committee on Ways and Means in the 116^th Congress (Subcommittee on Oversight) entitled "Legislative Proposals and Tax Law Related to Presidential and Vice-Presidential Tax Returns" (Hearing) (Feb. 7, 2019).

40. Attached hereto as Exhibit LL is a true and accurate copy of the opening statement, as prepared for delivery, of Rep. John Lewis, chairman of the Subcommittee on Oversight, at the Hearing (Feb. 7, 2019).

41. Attached hereto as Exhibit MM is a true and accurate copy of the written statement of Steven M. Rosenthal, senior fellow of the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center, entitled "The Value of Presidential and Vice-Presidential Tax Returns to the Public and Congress," for the Hearing before Subcommittee on Oversight (Feb. 7, 2019).

42. Attached hereto as Exhibit NN is a true and accurate copy of the report entitled "The Case for Congress Obtaining Trump's Tax Returns," prepared by William Rice, senior writer at Americans for Tax Fairness, submitted to and accepted by the Subcommittee on Oversight during the Hearing (Feb. 7, 2019).

43. Attached hereto as Exhibit 00 is a true and accurate copy of the Memorandum from Chairman Richard E. Neal, to Members of the Committee on Ways and Means, Re: Historical Use of Authority to Obtain Confidential Tax Information (July 25, 2019).

44. Attached hereto as Exhibit PP is a true and accurate copy of remarks by President Trump Before Marine One Departure from the White House (Apr. 10, 2019)

45. Attached hereto as Exhibit QQ is a true and accurate copy of the letter from Chairman Neal to Secretary Mnuchin (Aug. 8, 2019).

46. Attached hereto as Exhibit RR is a true and accurate copy of the letter from Secretary Mnuchin to Chairman Neal (Aug. 13, 2019).

47. Attached hereto as Exhibit SS is a true and accurate copy of the Frequently Asked Questions relating to Chairman Neal's Section 6103 request, prepared by the Committee's Democratic Staff (Apr. 3, 2019).

48. Attached hereto as Exhibit TT is a true and accurate copy of the article Nixon Gift Raises Questions by Nick Kotz in The Washington Post (June 10, 1973).

49. Attached hereto as Exhibit UU is a true and accurate copy of the article Income Tax Treatment of Donation of Nixon Pre-Presidential Papers by Ira L. Tannenbaum in Tax Notes (July 30, 1973).

50. Attached hereto as Exhibit VV is a true and accurate copy of the article President Nixon's Troublesome Tax Returns by William D. Samson in Tax Notes (Apr. 11, 2005).

51. Attached hereto as Exhibit WW is a true and accurate copy of the article Literary Appraiser Guilty in Backdating Nixon Files by William E. Farrell in The New York Times (Nov. 13, 1975).

52. Attached hereto as Exhibit XX is a table describing the public record materials relied upon in Secretary Mnuchin's April 23, 2019 Letter and the Office of Legal Counsel's June 13, 2019 Opinion.

I declare under penalty of perjury that the foregoing is true and correct, to the best of my knowledge.

Executed on August 20, 2019, in Washington, DC.

Todd B. Tatelman