Steven Mnuchin suggests he'll defy subpoena for Trump’s taxes

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin suggested on Wednesday he will defy a congressional subpoena for President Trump's tax returns.

Mnuchin testified before a Senate Appropriations subcommittee after Democrats last week issued a subpoena for six years of Trump's federal taxes. This subpoena came after Mnuchin defied a previous House Ways and Means Committee request, and it set a May 17 deadline to hand over the tax returns.

While Mnuchin said on Wednesday that "we haven't made a decision" about how to respond, he added that "I think you can guess which way we're leaning on our subpoena," The Hill reports. He also signaled that the fight would head to court, saying, "this is why there are three branches of government."

Democrats have argued Mnuchin is violating a 1924 law that states the Treasury secretary "shall furnish" tax returns when requested by a congressional committee, while Mnuchin contends Congress needs a "legitimate legislative purpose" that it does not have. Ahead of the subpoena possibly being ignored, Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-N.J.), a member of the House Ways and Means Committee, on Tuesday said that if Mnuchin and IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig "say no all the way, then I'd put them in jail all the way."