President Donald Trump late Thursday asked the right-wing Supreme Court to block the Manhattan district attorney’s subpoena for his tax returns, arguing that he is “absolutely immune from all stages of state criminal process while in office.”
“That President Trump is going to the Supreme Court to try to avoid scrutiny of his finances does not exactly inspire confidence in what will be found in his tax returns.”
—Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington
Trump’s 179-page petition (pdf) to the Supreme Court represents the final stage in the president’s effort to stop Manhattan prosecutors from obtaining eight years of his personal and business tax records. Mazars USA, Trump’s accounting firm, has said it will hand over the state documents if the Supreme Court declines to hear the case.
Ryan Thomas, spokesperson for progressive advocacy group Stand Up America, said in a statement that the president’s “appeal to block the release of his tax returns is nothing more than a last-ditch effort to stymie a criminal investigation that’s breathing down his neck.”
“No one is above the law, including Donald Trump,” said Thomas. “It’s absolutely shocking the lengths Donald Trump will go to to shield himself from accountability. If Trump has nothing to hide, then he should immediately release his tax returns and give the American people the transparency they deserve.”
SCROLL TO CONTINUE WITH CONTENT