Court rules on records
DA tax demand upheld; other documents on hold
The Supreme Court issues a mixed verdict on demands for President Trump’s financial records that will keep his tax returns private for now.
WASHINGTON – Rejecting President Donald Trump’s complaints that he’s being harassed, the Supreme Court ruled Thursday in favor of a New York prosecutor’s demands for the billionaire president’s tax records. But in good political news for Trump, his taxes and other financial records almost certainly will be kept out of the public eye at least until after the November election.
In a separate case, the justices kept a hold on banking and other documents about Trump, family members and his businesses that Congress has been seeking for more than a year. The court said that although Congress has significant power to demand the president’s personal information, it is not limitless.
The court turned away the broadest arguments by Trump’s attorneys and the Justice Department that the president is immune from investigation while he holds office or that a prosecutor must show a greater need than normal to obtain the tax records. But it is unclear when a lower court judge might order the Manhattan district attorney’s subpoena to be enforced.
The increasing likelihood that a grand jury will get to examine his personal documents spurred the president to lash out on Twitter, saying, “This is all a political prosecution. I won the Mueller Witch Hunt, and others, and now I have to keep fighting in a politically corrupt New York. Not fair to this PresidenThe cy or Administration!”
Trump’s two high court appointees, Justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh, joined the majority in both cases along with Chief Justice John Roberts and the four liberal justices. Roberts wrote both opinions.
“Congressional subpoenas for information from the President, however, implicate special concerns regarding the separation of powers. The courts below did not take adequate account of those concerns,” Roberts wrote in the congressional case.
But Roberts also wrote that Trump was asking for too much. “The standards proposed by the President and the Solicitor General – if applied outside the context of privileged information – would risk seriously impeding Congress in carrying out its responsibilities.”
ruling returns the congressional case to lower courts, with no clear prospect for when it might ultimately be resolved.
“The Court has reaffirmed the Congress’ authority to conduct oversight on behalf of the American people,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in a statement.
The tax returns case also is headed back to a lower court. Mazars USA, Trump’s accounting firm, holds the tax returns and has indicated it would comply with a court order. Because the grand jury process is confidential, Trump’s taxes usually would not be made public.
Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. said his investigation, on hold while the court fight played out, will now resume.