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Former US President Donald Trump has criticized a Supreme Court decision to release some of his tax returns. The Treasury Department is now required to submit its tax returns to a Democratic committee of the House of Representatives. On his own social media platform Truth Social, Trump says that the court, where he himself appointed three conservative judges, has lost its “honour, prestige and status”.
Yesterday, the highest body of the US judiciary decided after years of legal wrangling that Trump’s tax returns must be handed over. The committee wants to know, among other things, the financial status of Trump’s business empire.
Several investigations are underway into the tax returns of the former president. His legal team has always tried to keep the reports secret. To this end, they turned to the Supreme Court in several cases, after attempts at lower courts failed.
“Why should anyone be surprised that the Supreme Court ruled against me, they always do!” Trump wrote in response. “It is unprecedented to hand over tax returns, and it sets a terrible precedent for future presidents,” he said.
Different legal attitude
The legal ball started rolling when Richard Neal, who heads the Democratic committee that will conduct the investigation, requested Trump’s tax returns from the IRS three years ago. The US Treasury Department, which at the time was headed by a Trump-appointed secretary, initially refused to hand over the documents.
A spokesman for the ministry told CNN yesterday, after the court ruling, that the documents will now be handed over to the commission. A member of the Democratic committee said he hopes to have the documents next week.
There is a rush for the Democrats, because the new Congress will be installed on January 3, after which the Republicans will be in the majority. They in turn can try to stop the handing over of the documents.
“We knew the strength of our case, we stayed the course, and eventually our case was upheld by the highest court in the country,” said committee leader Neal.
Another legal defeat
It is yet another Supreme Court loss for Trump’s camp. Last year, the chief judge already ordered the former president to hand over his tax returns to a public prosecutor in New York. He also wanted to investigate the financial situation of Trump’s business empire. The released documents must, among other things, show whether he has committed fraud in his tax return.
Trump accused the prosecutor of “fishing for information” after the ruling. According to him, the court should never have gone along with that.
Trump is one of the few US presidents to refuse to release his tax returns, according to the AP news agency. He plans to run again in the presidential election in 2024.