Attorneys for former President Donald Trump on Monday asked the Supreme Court to stop the IRS from turning over his tax returns to a congressional committee after an appeals court rejected arguments that the request was politically motivated.
In an emergency order, Trump’s attorneys asked the Supreme Court to stop the Treasury Department from handing the records over to the House Committee on Ways and Means, saying that the committee’s request was aimed at releasing the former president’s tax returns to the public and not any legitimate legislative interest.
Update 9:55 a.m. EST, Nov. 1: Chief Justice John Roberts has issued a temporary hold on the handover of Trump’s tax records, The Associated Press reported.
The order allows the high court to determine any legal issues with the former president’s emergency appeal.
- Natalie Dreier, Cox Media Group
Original report: Similar arguments have been rejected by lower courts, most recently by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. The court rejected a request to stop lawmakers from getting tax records on Thursday.
The House Committee on Ways and Means has sought tax records from Trump since 2019, when committee chair Rep. Richard Neal, D-Mass., asked for six years of returns as part of an investigation into the efficacy of the IRS’ Presidential Audit Program.
The Treasury Department declined to hand over records in 2019, saying that the committee lacked a “legitimate legislative purpose” for the request, and the committee sued.
Officials cited Section 6103(f) of the Internal Revenue Code, which states that the Treasury secretary “shall furnish … any return or return information” requested by a handful of lawmakers, including Neal.
In 2021, after President Joe Biden took office, the House Committee on Ways and Means renewed its request for Trump’s tax returns. The White House determined the request was legal and that the Treasury Department had to comply with it.
The Supreme Court previously ruled against Trump in a bid to keep his tax records from prosecutors in New York. The former president has repeatedly resisted requests for his tax returns.
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