The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled President Donald Trump’s taxes must be handed over to the Manhattan District Attorney, in a 7-2 ruling in Trump v. Vance. The Court has ordered the case sent back to the lower court to give Trump an opportunity to try to block portions of his records, but ultimately he must hand over some records.
Separately, also in a 7-2 decision, the court ruled in favor of Congress and against the President. But the court ruled the case should also be sent to a lower court to debate the “significant separation of powers concerns.”
CNN adds, “House subpoenas for President Trump’s financial documents will remain blocked the Supreme Court said.”
The court had consolidated the cases of Trump v. Mazars USA and Trump v. Deutsche Bank, in an attempt to block subpoenas from the House Financial Services, Intelligence, and Oversight Committees.
The rulings are a strong indictment and rebuke of Trump’s attempt to gain unprecedented powers.
But MSNBC’s Pete Williams warns these cases may not be fully resolved until after the election, and that Trump could appeal to the Supreme Court again if he does not win in the lower courts.
MSNBC’s Joyce Vance (no relation to the case) suggests the court has protected the rule of law.
Former federal prosecutor Renatto Mariotti puts it all in focus:
Trump lost six earlier rulings in attempts to block release of his taxes, which early on he promised to release as soon as a supposed IRS audit had been completed. That promise long ago disappeared. He became the first president since Richard Nixon to not release their taxes before the election.
Before the court ruled economist and political commentator David Rothschild cautioned it “would be disastrous for US” if Congress lost:
As far back as 2011 Trump had promised to release his taxes if he ever ran for office. His broken promises have been the subject of countless rebukes.
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