Supreme Court Blocks Immediate Release Of Trump’s Tax Records In Setback For Impeachment Probe

The Supreme Court on Monday made a temporary decision to block a lower court’s ruling that had provided federal investigators with immediate access to President Donald Trump‘s business documents. None of the justices publicly said they opposed the stay.

At least five judges consented to the unsigned order, thus creating an obstacle for Democratic lawmakers leading Trump’s impeachment inquiry. House Democrats had issued a subpoena for records from the president’s accounting firm, Mazars USA, and will now face a steeper uphill battle to obtain Trump’s tax returns while beginning to draft articles of impeachment against Trump. Last week, Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts temporarily blocked the release of Trump’s financial records to Congress.

House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff (D-California) announced Monday that his committee and the other panels leading the probe are hoping to release their impeachment report shortly after the one-week Thanksgiving recess. House Democrats are set to determine the scope of their case in the upcoming weeks. They must establish whether to limit their arguments exclusively to Trump’s dealings with Ukraine or to also include allegations that the president overstepped his authority for personal financial gain. Lawmakers have long suspected that Trump’s taxes reveal connections to foreign entities like Russian oligarchs and Saudi Arabia.

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Trump’s legal team must file a formal petition to the Supreme Court by Dec. 5 in order to secure a hearing about his financial records. Should the case be taken up, it is expected to be a historic dispute between the legislative and executive branches that would likely have major long-term implications on the distribution of power between Congress and the president. The case would likely be heard in the spring and come to a close in June. Trump has already filed a petition seeking review and prosecutors have filed a brief requesting that the Supreme Court deny review.