Trump heads to Supreme Court for second time over tax records

For the second time in less than a week President Donald Trump said he’ll go to the U.S. Supreme Court to appeal court rulings threatening to expose his tax records.

An 11-judge panel of the appeals court in Washington on Wednesday rejected the president’s request that it reconsider a ruling refusing to quash a demand by House Democrats for records from Trump’s accountants at Mazars USA LLP. Three of the judges said they would agree to the hearing.

“In light of the well-reasoned dissent, we will seek review at the Supreme Court,“ Trump’s lawyer Jay Sekulow said in a statement.

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Neil Gorsuch, left, speaks after being nominated as an associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court by President Donald Trump in January 2017.

Congress issued the subpoena to Mazars in April as part of an investigation of whether to change ethics-in-government laws. Trump sued to block it, saying the House Oversight and Reform Committee had no legitimate legislative reason to seek his records. Trump’s last recourse now is to go to the U.S. Supreme Court.

In a 2-1 decision in October, the appeals court panel called the House subpoena “a valid exercise of the legislative oversight authority because it seeks information important to determining the fitness of legislation to address potential problems within the Executive Branch and the electoral system.”

Last week Trump’s lawyers told a judge they’ll ask the Supreme Court to block a subpoena from the Manhattan district attorney seeking his tax filings and other financial records in a grand jury investigation. They’re due to file their request for consideration at the top court Thursday.

The federal appeals court in New York rejected Trump’s claim that he has broad immunity from criminal investigation. The panel ruled 3-0 that Trump can’t block the subpoena.

— Andrew Harris, with assistance from Jordan Fabian
Bloomberg News

Andrew Harris
Bloomberg News
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