The US Supreme Court has decided on Monday that former president Donald Trump must release his tax returns and other financial records to prosecutors in New York. They’re investigating his financials.
Trump’s lawyers had asked the Supreme Court to block a ruling from a lower court. It decided last October that Trump’s accountant, Mazars USA, should hand over the financial data to a grand jury set up by Cyrus Vance, chief prosecutor in Manhattan, New York. The Supreme judges rejected Trump’s request without further comment.
As the only president in recent history, Trump has always refused to release his tax returns. These will provide prosecutors with insight into the building up of his assets and the activities of his family’s Real Estate Group, the Trump Organization.
“The work continues,” prosecutor Vance said in a statement following the Supreme Court decision. Trump’s lawyers have not yet responded to a request for comment.
With the ruling of the Supreme Court, a protracted legal battle between Trump and the New York prosecutors comes to an end. In July last year, the supreme courts already handed out a defeat to Trump: his claim that he could not be the subject of criminal investigation as then-sitting president was rejected.
Research started small and has expanded
The Manhattan prosecutors started an investigation two years ago into silent money payments allegedly made by Trump in 2016 to a porn actress and a Playboy model who claim to have slept with him.
In court papers recently filed, chief prosecutor Vance hinted that the investigation into Trump has now been broadened and also covers possible Banking, Tax and insurance fraud and falsifying business records.
About the author: Wesley C Waldo
Wesley C Waldo, a promising writer who is preparing to publish his first novel in 2023. Travels a lot and collects the clues for a new book. He writes on social topics, sometimes describes an event or two.
