The Supreme Court issued an order on Tuesday rejecting President Donald Trump’s request that it block the disclosure of his federal tax documents to a Democrat-controlled congressional committee.
The order did not provide any explanation of the court’s reason for turning down Trump’s emergency appeal and there were no dissenting votes noted. As a result of the brief order, the House Committee on Ways and Means is now prepared to obtain six years of Trump’s personal and business tax returns.
SCOTUS is gone, too.
Supreme Court orders Trump's tax returns to be turned over to House Democratshttps://t.co/fjsobOktD5
— 🇺🇸 The FJC 🇺🇸 (Same on Truth!) (@The_FJC) November 22, 2022
The order could mark the end of litigation over the records that has been fiercely contested since 2019. The controversy began when the committee asked the IRS to turn over copies of the Trump tax documents. The panel said it wanted the records as part of its study of potential legislation regarding how sitting presidents are treated under federal tax laws.
That was during the time President Trump was still in the White House, and the Treasury Department denied the committee’s request for the returns. After Joe Biden assumed office in 2021, the Treasury changed its position and said it would provide access.
Trump asked a federal court to intervene to block the disclosure, arguing there was no legitimate purpose for the disclosure of the confidential documents. The federal district court and the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled against Trump, leading to his recent request for emergency relief from the Supreme Court.
The Biden Department of Justice asked the high court to refuse to take up the case. It argued in part that the committee needs the records urgently before Republicans retake control of the House on January 3, 2023, so it can complete its “legislative work.”
President Trump responded to the order in a post on Truth Social by saying it “creates terrible precedent for future Presidents.”
He added that the high court “has become nothing more than a political body, with our Country paying the price.”
It remains unclear what action House Republicans will take regarding how the Ways and Means Committee will handle the records dispute after taking control of the lower chamber of Congress in January.
