Supreme Court Rules Trump Tax Returns Must Be Released To NY Grand Jury, Denies House Democrats

Update (1023ET): After granting NY prosecutors Trump’s tax returns, the Supreme Court has denied efforts by House Democrats to subpoena the records – and has kicked the case back to lower courts for further consideration. 

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The Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that a New York Grand Jury can have President Trump’s tax records, after Manhattan prosecutor Cy Vance subpoenaed eight years of returns along with other records in connection with an investigation into hush money payments made to porn star Stormy Daniels, according to Axios.

Vance is investigating whether the Trump Organization falsified business records to hide evidence of payments to Daniels (real name Stephanie Clifford) and another woman. Trump had previously claimed immunity from criminal investigations while in office.

The court has yet to rule on whether House Democrats can have access to the records, after the lawmakers issued subpoenas to Deutsche Bank, Capital One, and the president’s longtime accounting firm, Mazars, for evidence of illegal conduct or hidden loyalties – despite no evidence of financial crimes or ‘collusion’ with Russia.

“He refuses to turn over the tax returns, what does he have to hide?” Financial Services Chairwoman Maxine Waters mused last May.

Then Oversight Chairman Elijah Cummings wrote in a memo that his subpoena was necessary to investigate whether President Trump “may have engaged in illegal conduct before and during his tenure in office.” –WSJ

Democrats then argued that obtaining Trump’s financial records could be a “useful case study” to learn about “unsafe lending practices” and “money laundering,” along with “efforts b Russia and other foreign entities to influence the US political process during and since the 2016 US election.” (via the WSJ)

Yet, as The Journal notes, D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Neomi Rao explained in her Mazars dissent:

 “Allowing the Committee to issue this subpoena for legislative purposes would turn Congress into a roving inquisition over a co-equal branch of government.”

Medical records, private emails, cell phone logs – none of the President’s personal papers would be out of Congress’s reach.

What are the chances Trump’s returns will leak out of New York?