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.