President Trump has been attacked like no other President in American history, but no one is truly surprised by that.
Trump came to Washington with an enormous chip on his shoulder, telling the entire rotten establishment that he was there to drain the swamp. Of course he was going to face the most ridiculous attacks on his character. He called these people out by name and they came back to greet him with a vengeance.
One of their most persistent pursuits has been in seeking the tax returns of the President, who himself has explained several times that they are under audit and that his legal team has advised him against releasing this information.
The Supreme Court has now made a decision on the validity of that argument, and the White House is certainly not thrilled with the outcome.
The Supreme Court ruled Thursday that President Donald Trump cannot keep his tax returns and financial records away from a New York City prosecutor pursuing possible hush-money payments during the 2016 White House race.
The court temporarily blocked congressional investigators from gaining access to many of the same records. It sent the effort by House Democrats back to a lower court for further review of the separation of powers between the executive and legislative branches.
Both 7-2 decisions were written by Chief Justice John Roberts and joined by Trump’s two nominees, Associate Justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh. The court’s two other conservatives, Associate Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito, dissented.
The landmark rulings carry political, legal and constitutional implications for the president, Congress and law enforcement officials who argued the records could reveal evidence of criminal wrongdoing. For the time being, they mean the public won’t see Trump’s financial documents: Grand jury investigations are secret, and three House committees won’t get the records in the midst of the presidential campaign.
The outcome drew a firm rebuke from the White House and the President himself, while Democrats were sitting idly by, licking their chops at the thought of one day exploiting this ruling for their own political good.
