Name: US Supreme Court allows release of Trump tax returns
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US Supreme Court allows release of Trump tax returns

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Posted: Feb 22, 2021 / 10:00 AM ESTUpdated: Feb 22, 2021 / 11:47 AM ESTThis is an archived article and the information in the article may be outdated. Please look at the time stamp on the story to see when it was last updated.WASHINGTON () — The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday paved the way for a New York City prosecutor to obtain former President Donald&nbsp;Trump’s tax returns and other financial records as part of a criminal investigation, a blow to his quest to conceal details of his finances.The justices rebuffed&nbsp;without comment Trump’s request to put on hold directing the former Republican president’s longtime accounting firm, Mazars USA, to comply with a subpoena to turn over the materials to a grand jury convened by Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance, a Democrat.“The work continues,” Vance said in a statement issued after the court’s action.A lawyer for&nbsp;Trump&nbsp;did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but he has previously called the DA’s investigation “a fishing expedition” and “the greatest witch hunt in history.”The Supreme Court, which has a 6-3 conservative majority included three&nbsp;Trump&nbsp;appointees, had already ruled once in the dispute, last July rejecting&nbsp;Trump’s broad argument that he was immune from criminal probes as a sitting president. Justices&nbsp;Neil Gorsuch&nbsp;and&nbsp;Brett Kavanaugh, whom Trump nominated to the high court, joined that decision.&nbsp;It was issued before Trump’s third nominee, Justice&nbsp;, replaced the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the court.Unlike all other recent U.S. presidents,&nbsp;Trump&nbsp;refused during his four years in office to make his&nbsp;tax&nbsp;returns&nbsp;public. The data could provide details on his wealth and the activities of his family real-estate company, the&nbsp;Trump&nbsp;Organization.Trump, who left office on Jan. 20 after being defeated in his Nov. 3 re-election bid by Democrat Joe Biden, continues to face an array of legal issues concerning his personal and business conduct.Vance issued a subpoena to Mazars in August 2019 seeking&nbsp;Trump’s corporate and personal&nbsp;tax&nbsp;returns&nbsp;from 2011 to 2018.&nbsp;Trump’s lawyers sued to block the subpoena, arguing that as a sitting president,&nbsp;Trump&nbsp;had absolute immunity from state criminal investigations.The Supreme Court in its July ruling rejected those arguments but said&nbsp;Trump&nbsp;could raise other objections to the subpoena.&nbsp;Trump’s lawyers then argued before lower courts that the subpoena was overly broad and amounted to political harassment, but U.S. District Judge Victor Marrero in August and the New York-based 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in October rejected those claims.Vance’s investigation, which began more than two years ago, had focused on hush money payments that the then-president’s former lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen made before the 2016 election to two women – adult-film actress Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal – who said they had sexual encounters with&nbsp;Trump.“The Supreme Court has now proclaimed that no one is above the law.&nbsp;Trump&nbsp;will, for the first time, have to take responsibility for his own dirty deeds,” Cohen said in a statement issued after the Supreme Court announced its action.The court on Monday separately turned away Daniels’ bid to revive her own defamation lawsuit against&nbsp;Trump.In recent court filings, Vance has suggested that the probe is now broader and could focus on potential bank,&nbsp;tax&nbsp;and insurance fraud, as well as falsification of business records.In separate litigation, the Democratic-led U.S. House of Representatives was seeking to enforce subpoenas on similar records. The Supreme Court in July sent that matter back to lower courts for further review.Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.Suggest a Correction✕× Close Ad

Posted: Feb 22, 2021 / 10:00 AM ESTUpdated: Feb 22, 2021 / 11:47 AM ESTThis is an archived article and the information in the article may be outdated. Please look at the time stamp on the story to see when it was last updated.WASHINGTON () — The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday paved the way for a New York City prosecutor to obtain former President Donald&nbsp;Trump’s tax returns and other financial records as part of a criminal investigation, a blow to his quest to conceal details of his finances.The justices rebuffed&nbsp;without comment Trump’s request to put on hold directing the former...

US Supreme Court allows release of Trump tax returns

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