Posted on 07/09/2020 7:52:30 AM PDT by servo1969
The Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that President Trump is not immune from a subpoena over his financial and tax records to Democratic Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance, Jr., -- and declined in a separate case to issue a definitive ruling on whether congressional committees can have access to Trump's financial records, throwing both issues back to lower courts.
Vance had subpoenaed Trump's records as part of a criminal investigation into potential wrongdoing by the president and his organization. Multiple House committees had subpoenaed Trump's records ostensibly as part of an effort at oversight and to inform potential legislation.
"President is neither absolutely immune from state criminal subpoenas seeking his private papers nor entitled to a heightened standard of need," Chief Justice John Roberts wrote in the court's majority opinion in the New York case. The court limited its ruling and the arguments before it to whether Trump has "absolute immunity" and state prosecutors are required to show a "heightened need" in order to obtain documents as part of investigations into a president.
The president "may raise further arguments as appropriate," in lower courts in an effort to keep Vance from obtaining his documents, Roberts wrote.
Roberts also authored the opinion in the House case.
"Without limits on its subpoena powers, Congress could 'exert an imperious controul' over the Executive Branch and aggrandize itself at the President's expense, just as the Framers feared," he wrote.
The rulings, in the near term, represent a partial victory for the president -- he will not have to turn over financial documents in the midst of a fraught presidential election.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
>> Yep. Trump’s guys sided with the libs. The dissenters were nominated by the Bush family - George Bush Sr and Dubya. <<
I have been pointing that out for years on FR and its simply been ignored. FReepers sneer sarcastically "thanks for nothing, George" about GWB's Supreme Court nominees, while they heaped praise on Trump's with stuff like "God Bless PDJT for KEEPING his campaign pledge to give us a pro-life Scalia type judge from his LIST!!! That ALONE should be reason enough to re-elect him!!!!"
If they want to put aside their pre-conceived biases and actually look at the judge's records, the reality is that both of the "useless, deep-state" Bush presidencies were 1-1 for Supreme Court nominations. Each gave us one rock solid conservative, and one disappointment.
Trump is 0-2 for his Supreme Court appointments. There is ZERO evidence that either of his "originalist" judges will overturn liberal "precedents" like homo marriage or abortion on demand. And now we know for a FACT that Gorsuch is NOT the "originalist" judge that people on FR blindly assumed he was just because Trump said so.
But hey, facts like that don't matter, let's keep bashing Bush and heaping praise on anyone and everyone Trump appoints.
...
I’m listening to Mike Gallagher. He says that analysts on NPR say the ruling means Trump’s tax returns will not be released prior to the election.
Yup disgusting. Where is Lepke when you need him.
I am sure they will go after the workpapers done for the return and any audit representations. His actual books and records are probably also getable. Of course, he can keep litigating each thing from now to the end of time. Warren Buffet had a tax case that dragged on for over ten years.
Screw the Bushies and all who defend them! Souter and Roberts were far worse choices than Kavanaugh and Gorsuch.
The president’s lawyers should have stated that they are now *assuming* that the documents will be leaked to their political enemies; and ask the court to issue special instructions to lower courts that those documents and their contents be inadmissible in criminal and civil cases apart from that of this particular DA’s investigations.
Does this mean that anyone can accuse anyone, even an ordinary citizen of something, then the accused can have his/her tax returns made public? If true, that would be a scary invasion of privacy.
You’re exactly right.
No matter when his office ends, the Demonrats plan to go after him and will see him in jail.
Will the American people rise up in protest then???????
Maybe I lied? :-) Or, maybe I have bidenitis.
If they can do it to Trump, they can get anyone’s starting with Nancy and husband’s tax records.
Unfriggingbelievable.
Our system (and half of our country) is so evil and corrupt I now wish there was another one to move to.
Selection of a Supreme Court nominee is a crap shoot. At that level it is hard to predict how they will vote. Plus you add in the fact that our numbers in Congress are weak — which means one has to pick someone whose political views are less known.
What we do know is that this election coming up is critical. Trump has to be reelected. As bad as things seem now I can not quite imagine the damage to the SC done by a leftist pleasing idiot like Biden.
“The president’s lawyers should have stated that they are now *assuming* that the documents will be leaked to their political enemies; and ask the court to issue special instructions to lower courts that those documents and their contents be inadmissible in criminal and civil cases apart from that of this particular DA’s investigations.”
I agree with this. Two pages of Trump’s tax returns from the 1990s have already been leaked to the press. Trump’s lawyers should use this argument.
The only reason President Trump should turn over his tax records is if he is Indicted. Without an Indictment, he bears no responsibility to show his returns and financial records to anyone. If he gives up his records, there is no end for him nor to any future first class Presidential nominees. If I were the President, I would fight the ruling to the end and without success, resign. The hell with the SCOTUS, this is strictly political. I would insist on the Justices turn over their returns and records.
President Trump should never turn over his records to anyone, without indictment. Otherwise, show cause. This ruling will effect Presidential nominees for years to come and have a devastating ramifications forever. First class nominees will never run for office. All we will have to vote for are Schiffs, Ryans, and Romneys to name a few. An indictment must be if order to force a President to release Tax Docs. If President Trump is forced to release the docs, he should resign in contempt.
Ah, but Democrat presidents have been FAR more successful at getting judges in who vote the way they want than our side has. Notice the difference in approaches:
CLINTON: I need me a liberal judge.
RUTH BADER GINSBURG: Hi, I'm a card-carrying activist liberal lawyer for the ACLU and an outspoken, man-hating third wave feminist.
CLINTON: Shucks, you're hired!
TRUMP: I need a staunch conservative judge in the Scalia mold.
GORSUCH: Well, I have no strong opinions on anything in public, and in my private life, I attend some ultra-liberal social activist church.
TRUMP: Ah, okay. But is your JUDICIAL PHILOSOPHY "originalist"? The Federalist Society tells me all the "originalist" judges will magically be awesome.
GORSUCH: So if I say yes, I get a lifetime job on the court? Sure! Yup, I'm "originalist"!
TRUMP: We got a winner here!
The problem is too many Dumbasses fall for the Lies of the Marxist Commie Leftists.
That is the core issue, I think. That is why I think the immunity thing is something else.
1. The Supreme Court just opened itself up to congressional demands for the individual justices’ tax returns.— Mark R. Levin (@marklevinshow) July 9, 2020
2. I can see a situation in which the House or the Senate decides that it must have access to all of the justices’ tax and financial records each year to determine if they’re influences in any way to write the decisions they write or vote the way they vote on numerous cases.— Mark R. Levin (@marklevinshow) July 9, 2020
3. The justices will not be able to argue that they are immune as a matter of separation of powers as they just shot down that argument as applies to the president.— Mark R. Levin (@marklevinshow) July 9, 2020
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.