By Jan Wolfe

WASHINGTON (Reuters] – On Tuesday, a U.S. judge will hear arguments in a lawsuit that has been ongoing over whether Congress should be able to access tax returns from former President Donald Trump.

Trump became the 40th president to refuse to reveal his tax returns. He wanted to hide the wealth of his family and the activities of Trump Organization. He left office 10 months ago and the controversy continues to linger.

U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden, Washington, will host a court hearing regarding the case at 2. ET (1900 GMT).

McFadden has been asked by Trump’s legal team to drop the case. It dates back to 2019 and McFadden stated that the House Ways and Means Committee had made an illegal request for tax returns.

Chairman of the committee, Democratic Representative Richard Neal said that it asked Trump for his tax returns in order to review how the IRS audits Presidents, and to discuss new legislation.

Trump’s attorneys called this rationale in a court filing on Oct. 26, claiming that it was a pretext to want to seek information that would embarrass Trump.

No one thinks that President Trump requested Chairman Neal’s tax returns to study the legislation regarding IRS audits. Trump’s legal team said that no one believed it.

Because the U.S. Justice Department had reversed its positions, the case moved slowly through the courts.

It released in July, six years after President Joe Biden was inaugurated, a memo stating that the House panel had provided “sufficient reasons” to request the material.

It stated that Trump’s request to have his taxes collected by the committee in 2019 was motivated by a “disingenuous objective” of exposing the tax returns to the public.

Trump was convicted last year by the U.S. Supreme Court in a case unrelated to his criminal prosecution. The Manhattan prosecutor requested his tax returns.