The Supreme Court rules that the Manhattan district attorney can obtain President Donald Trump’s tax returns.
WASHINGTON –The Supreme Court on Thursday upheld a prosecutor’s demand for President Donald Trump’s tax returns as part of a criminal investigation that includes hush-money payments to women who claim they had affairs with Trump. The court ruled 7-2 in a case in which it heard arguments by telephone in May because of the coronavirus pandemic. The records are held by Trump’s longtime accounting firm, Mazars USA, which has said it would comply with a court order. It probably will be at least several weeks before the court issues a formal judgment that would trigger the turnover of the records. The Supreme Court is expected to rule on whether Congress and the Manhattan district attorney can see President Donald Trump’s taxes and other financial records that the president has fought hard to keep private. The high-stakes dispute, which could be resolved Thursday, tests the balance of power between the White House and Congress, as well as Trump’s claim that he can’t be investigated while he holds office. It’s unclear, even if Trump loses, how much of the material would become public, since some records would go to a confidential grand-jury investigation in New York and the rest, sought by committees of the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives, could contain highly sensitive information not just about Trump, but also about other members of his family and businesses.
