Congress won't get Trump's tax returns until at least after the election under Supreme Court decision

(Image credit: Alex Wong/Getty Images)

published 9 July 2020

President Trump's taxes are safe from Congress for now, but not forever.

In a 7-2 decision in Trump v. Mazars issued Thursday, the Supreme Court didn't categorically say the House's subpoenas for President Trump's financial records were invalid, as Trump had argued. But it decided lower courts didn't look closely enough at the subpoenas and the separation of powers issues they entailed, sending the case back to those courts. That means a final decision on whether Congress can see those records will likely be delayed until after the November election.

Trump appointees Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh, along with Chief Justice John Roberts, joined the court's liberal wing for the decision. The same group ruled in favor of the Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance in Vance v. Trump, allowing the prosecutor to access Trump's financial records for a grand jury case against him. Trump's legal team requested "temporary presidential immunity" from the records request while Trump is in office.

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Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.

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