House Committee Files Lawsuit Over Trump Tax Returns

FILE - Protesters gather on Capitol Hill in Washington during a Tax Day demonstration calling on President Donald Trump to release his tax returns, April 15, 2017.

A House committee has filed a lawsuit in federal court seeking President Donald Trump's tax returns.

The lawsuit was filed Tuesday by the Ways and Means Committee against the Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service.

The committee says it doesn't have to explain its reasons for seeking Trump's tax return information. It says that the administration has defied a subpoena for the documents ``in order to shield President Trump's tax return information from Congressional scrutiny.''

The committee says it's investigating tax law compliance by the president, among other things.