The Supreme Court handed former President Donald Trump a big loss in his efforts to keep his tax returns out of the hands of investigators. The Supreme Court ruled that Trump must turn over eight years of his corporate and personal tax returns to Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance as part of an investigation into hush-money payments made ahead of the 2016 presidential election.
The ruling does not mean that Trump's tax returns will be made public. They will be presented to a grand jury and will remain sealed under state laws that restrict the public release of grand jury proceedings.
The decision comes following a months-long legal battle over Trump's tax returns. Last July, in a 7-2 ruling, the Supreme Court rejected Trump's claims that being president granted him immunity from having to turn over his tax returns. The court did say that Trump could challenge the subpoena in a lower court.
In October, a federal appeals court rejected his challenge, which claimed that the subpoena was overbroad and issued in bad faith.
"There is nothing to suggest that these are anything but run-of-the-mill documents typically relevant to a grand jury investigation into possible financial or corporate misconduct," the court said.
Trump's legal team appealed the decision back to the Supreme Court, asking for a stay of the ruling. The Supreme Court rejected the stay in a filing on Monday (February 22). The court did not provide any details about their decision, writing simply: "The application for a stay presented to Justice Breyer and referred to the Court is denied."
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