US Supreme Court to rule on Donald Trump's bid to conceal his financial records

US President Donald Trump speaks during an event at the White House in Washington. File picture: Kevin Lamarque/Reuters

US President Donald Trump speaks during an event at the White House in Washington. File picture: Kevin Lamarque/Reuters

Published Jul 9, 2020

Share

Washington - The US Supreme Court is due

on Thursday to rule on whether Democratic-led congressional

committees and a New York City prosecutor can get hold of

President Donald Trump's financial records, including his tax

returns, that he has tenaciously sought to keep secret.

The high court will issue the final rulings of its current

term, which began last October. They include three cases focused

on Trump lawsuits intended to block subpoenas issued to third

parties - not the Republican president himself - to hand over

his financial records. The rulings are expected shortly after 10

a.m. EDT (1400 GMT).

Unlike other recent presidents, Trump has refused to release

his tax returns and other documents that could provide details

on his wealth and the activities of his family real-estate

company, the Trump Organization. The content of these records

has remained a persistent mystery even as he seeks re-election

on Nov. 3. The rulings represent another milestone in Trump's

tumultuous presidency.

Two of the cases involve subpoenas issued by House of

Representatives committees seeking Trump's financial records

from his longtime accounting firm Mazars LLP and two banks,

Deutsche Bank and Capital One.

The third involves subpoenas issued to Mazars for financial

records including nearly a decade of Trump's tax returns to be

turned over to a grand jury in New York City as part of a

criminal investigation by the office of Manhattan District

Attorney Cyrus Vance, a Democrat.

The investigation launched by Vance's office in 2018 into

Trump and the Trump Organization was spurred by disclosures of

hush payments to two women who said they had past sexual

relationships with him, pornographic film actress Stormy Daniels

and former Playboy model Karen McDougal. Trump and his aides

have denied the relationships.

In the litigation over the House subpoenas, Trump argued

that Congress lacked a valid purpose for seeking his records and

that disclosure of the material would compromise his and his

family's privacy and distract him from his duties.

In the New York case, Trump's lawyers argued that under the

Constitution he is immune from any criminal proceeding while

serving as president. They also cited Justice Department

guidance that a sitting president cannot be indicted or

prosecuted.

In a lower court hearing, Trump's lawyers went so far as to

argue that law enforcement officials would not have the power to

investigate Trump even if he shot someone on New York's Fifth

Avenue.

The House Oversight Committee in April 2019 issued a

subpoena to Mazars seeking eight years of accounting and other

financial information in response to the congressional testimony

of Michael Cohen, Trump's former lawyer. Cohen said Trump had

inflated and deflated certain assets on financial statements

between 2011 and 2013 in part to reduce his real estate taxes.

The House Financial Services Committee has been examining

possible money laundering in US property deals involving

Trump. In a separate investigation, the House Intelligence

Committee is investigating whether Trump's dealings left him

vulnerable to the influence of foreign individuals or

governments.

Reuters

Related Topics:

donald trumptrump