Supreme Court refuses Trump effort to block tax return subpoena
The move clears the way for prosecutors in New York to receive eight years of the ex-president’s tax returns and financial records.
The Supreme Court has cleared the way for prosecutors in New York City to receive eight years of former President Donald Trump’s tax returns and other financial records as part of an ongoing investigation into possible tax, insurance and bank fraud in Trump’s business empire.
The high court’s decision to turn down Trump’s request for a stay of a grand jury subpoena advances a criminal probe by Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance Jr. that appears to be one of the most serious of an array of legal threats Trump faces in his post-presidency.
The justices issued no explanation for the denial and no member of the court publicly noted any dissent.
Trump pushed back in a Monday statement, decrying the investigation as “a continuation of the greatest political Witch Hunt in the history of our Country,” while continuing to spout false claims that he had won the election.
“The Tea Party was treated better by the IRS than Donald Trump,” the former president said, an apparent reference to revelations in 2013 that the IRS applied extra scrutiny to conservative groups applying for nonprofit status. “The Supreme Court never should have let this ‘fishing expedition’ happen, but they did. This is something which has never happened to a President before, it is all Democrat-inspired in a totally Democrat location, New York City and State, completely controlled and dominated by a heavily reported enemy of mine, Governor Andrew Cuomo.”