Former President Donald Trump has asked the Supreme Court to put on hold the release of his tax returns by the Internal Revenue Service to a Democratic-led House committee.
Trump filed the emergency request on Monday with the high court after a federal appeals court cleared the way last week for the returns to be disclosed to the House Ways and Means Committee in the coming days.
The case is the most direct way for the House to obtain Trump’s federal tax returns after pursuing them in different avenues for years.
The Trump team wants the Supreme Court to put the release of the tax returns on pause while the justices consider whether to take up a case reviewing the lower court rulings okaying their disclosure.
[I’d consider this a Hail Mary at best. The relevant statutes allow for the Ways and Means chair to have access to tax returns for “legislative purposes,” although the chair has to keep them confidential. In other words, Trump is not likely to prevail, so the Supreme Court really doesn’t have a basis on which to enjoin the release. However, the novel nature of this case could prompt more caution. Stay tuned. — Ed]
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