Supreme Court rejects Trump tax return appeal

The justices on Tuesday ruled that Congress can access six years’ worth of former President Donald Trump’s tax returns. Lower courts had already concluded that the House Ways and Means Committee had broad authority to obtain any individual’s returns. Trump and his attorneys appealed to the Supreme Court, and Chief Justice John Roberts temporarily blocked the release of the documents. The court lifted that order Tuesday with no noted dissent.

How long has the case been going on? In 2019, the House Ways and Means Committee requested tax returns for Trump and some of his businesses. Then–Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin refused to hand them over because he thought the committee wanted them for partisan reasons. The House is scheduled to break for Christmas on Dec. 16. When Congress reconvenes on Jan. 3, Republicans will have control of the House, and likely will not take any further action on the matter.

Dig deeper: Read Carolina Lumetta’s report in The Stew about Trump’s recent announcement that he’s running for president again in 2024.