Intuitively setting Trump's resignation date, Mnuchin REFUSES to comply with lawful Congressional demand

Charles P. Pierce, political writer for Esquire Magazine, declared on Twitter this afternoon,

Dear Headline Writers: Mnuchin is not “declining a request.” He’s breaking the law.

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) issued this statement,

Following Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin’s refusal to turn President Trump’s tax returns over to the House Ways and Means Committee, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington Executive Director Noah Bookbinder released the following statement:

“The law is clear that the IRS must turn over tax returns requested by the House Ways and Means Committee, which has many legitimate and important reasons to request the president’s returns. The returns are crucial for evaluating potential conflicts of interest, among many other appropriate legislative purposes. There is no wiggle room in this, it is the law. Secretary Mnuchin says he has decided not to turn them over, but that is not a decision that is his to make. Congress cannot accept this.”

From the New York Times,

WASHINGTON — The Treasury Department said on Monday that it would not release President Trump’s tax returns to Congress, defying a request from House Democrats and setting up a legal battle likely to be resolved by the Supreme Court.

Steven Mnuchin, the Treasury secretary, wrote in a letter to Representative Richard E. Neal, Democrat of Massachusetts and the chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, that Mr. Neal’s request for the tax returns “lacks a legitimate legislative purpose” and that he was not authorized to disclose them. The decision came after weeks of delays as Mr. Mnuchin said that his department and the Justice Department needed to study the provision of the tax code that Democrats were using to seek six years’ worth of the president’s personal and business tax returns.

The request for Mr. Trump’s taxes is the latest instance of the Trump administration rebuffing congressional oversight efforts.

“As you have recognized, the committee’s request is unprecedented, and it presents serious constitutional questions, the resolution of which may have lasting consequences for all taxpayers,” Mr. Mnuchin wrote in the one-page letter.

He added that “the department may not lawfully fulfill the committee’s request.”

Mr. Neal issued a terse statement on Monday afternoon in response to Mr. Mnuchin: “I will consult with counsel and determine the appropriate response.”

Because we reasonably have been able to infer from his behavior over the last four years that the one thing Trump fears most is public (or even just to Congress) disclosure of his personal and business tax returns, it follows that when he has exhausted his legal options for preventing said disclosure, his presidency will end. We are free, however to speculate as to HOW it will end.

One possibility is that on the day SCOTUS compels Mnuchin to fulfill the Congressional demand, or the next day, Trump will compel Mike Pence to issue him a blanket pardon and then resign.

Less honorable endings are certainly just as possible. Popular culture provides fuel for the imagination. Based on the David Baldacci novel of the same name, in the 1997 movie Absolute Power, Gene Hackman portrays US President Alan Richmond. I won't spoil the plot or the ending for those who haven't seen it. But Richmond's administration suffers an ignominious demise.

Then there's the obvious end that I suspect more than 100 million Americans would appreciate--impeachment by the House and conviction by the Senate.

There might be more possible ways to end this particular long national nightmare, but resignation would likely be the least traumatic not only for the nation but also for Trump and his family.