Supreme Court arguments over Trump's tax returns point to ideological split decision

The Supreme Court continued its unprecedented work routine with an unprecedented case on Tuesday, hearing arguments over whether Congress and a New York prosecutor can access President Trump's financial records. And after a day of arguments broadcast live, it appears the justices are ideologically split on the case with an eventual decision coming down to Chief Justice John Roberts, The Washington Post reports.

Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan, who are on the liberal end of the Supreme Court's ideological spectrum, had harsh questions for Trump's lawyer Jay Sekulow on Tuesday. Sekulow is explicitly asking for "temporary presidential immunity," arguing a "criminal process targeting the president" violates the Constitution. "You are asking for broader immunity" than anyone else, Sotomayor responded. "He's the president," Sekulow fired back, but Kagan shut him down with a simple statement: "The president isn't above the law."

Justice Brett Kavanaugh, a Trump appointee and more conservative member of the court, compared a president's financial records to medical records, leading the House's top lawyer to say medical records probably wouldn't be given to Congress if it asked. That tied into questioning from Justice Samuel Alito, another conservative, who suggested that without a "limit" on the House's subpoena power, it could be used to harass a president. Roberts, who has in some cases become a swing vote on the court, "seemed to ask questions of both sides that made his inclinations difficult to read," the Post writes.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

The Supreme Court has gone remote during the coronavirus pandemic, conducting arguments over the phone and, for the first time in history, broadcasting them live as well.