Good morning, I'm Tim Walker with today's essential stories.

Cabinet members close ranks amid Democrat attacks on Trump

The treasury secretary, Steven Mnuchin, has said his department will not comply with a deadline set by House Democrats to hand over six years' worth of Donald Trump's tax returns. In a letter to the ways and means committee chairman, Richard Neal, Mnuchin suggested the Democrats' demand was an "abuse of authority" designed for "embarrassing or attacking" the president. The announcement came as other cabinet members closed ranks around Trump in response to perceived attacks by Democrats.

Campaign spying. The attorney general, William Barr, has said he believes "spying did occur" on the Trump campaign during the Obama administration, echoing Trump's claims. The House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, said Barr had gone "off the rails" to serve Trump rather than the public.

Pompeo flounders. The secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, recently told senators an "international law doctrine" explained why Trump had recognised Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights but not the Russian seizure of Crimea – but a clarifying letter from the state department cited no such doctrine.