Donald Trump rage tweeted 'NOT FAIR!' Thursday as the Supreme Court ruled 7-2 that he cannot claim immunity to stop his tax return...
Donald Trump rage tweeted 'NOT FAIR!' Thursday as the Supreme Court ruled 7-2 that he cannot claim immunity to stop his tax returns being obtained by prosecutors - while his lawyer vowed to fight to keep them secret from New York's district attorney Cy Vance.
The justices dealt a stunning blow Trump by ruling that he cannot claim immunity from all investigation to stop his bank and his accountants from handing over the tax returns going back to 2011 that Vance had demanded as part of his probe into possible hush money to Stormy Daniels.
The court ruled 7-2 that Trump is not immune as president from subpoenas, in an opinion that tested both the power of local prosecutors and Congress to obtain information.
But is does not mean the public will see the tax returns, which Trump has kept secret since running from office, because the case was only about prosecutors - and Congress - being able to access them.
And it does not give any timetable for when they will be obtained by prosecutors.
That leaves it unclear whether the ruling offers Trump a political victory by putting off any possible release until after the election, or a defeat, by enabling a damaging criminal case to move forward before November 3.
Chief Justice John Roberts wrote the opinion; the two who dissented were Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito, meaning the justices Trump appointed - Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh ruled against him.
Trump immediately reacted by slamming the justices and claiming he was being singled out by them tweeting: 'Courts in the past have given 'broad deference'. BUT NOT ME!'
His personal attorney Jay Sekulow said the president would fight on with new 'constitutional' arguments to attempt to keep his returns secret.
Landmark decision: The ruling on Donald Trump's tax returns is the final and likely to be the most consequential of this term on the Supreme Court
Sekulow, claimed a victory, claiming the court had 'temporarily blocked' access to the returns - although that was the effect of the ruling, not the actual substance of it.
'We are pleased that in the decisions issued today, the Supreme Court has temporarily blocked both Congress and New York prosecutors from obtaining the President's tax records.
'We will now proceed to raise additional Constitutional and legal issues in the lower courts.'
Vance must go back to court in New York to seek the subpoenas for both Deutsche Bank and Mazars, Trump's long-term accountants.
Legal experts were split on whether the ruling was as bad for Trump as his own tweets suggested, with some saying it meant prosecutors might not get them until after the election, representing a political victory.
But Neal Katyal, one of Obama's solicitors-general, said he believed the case would proceed rapidly and was 'scary for Trump.'
On Fox News, legal commentator Andrew Napolitano called it a 'defeat' and said it would be resolved before November.
The justices handed Trump a partial victory in Congressional Democrats' parallel attempt to get his tax returns, ruling that although he is not immune from subpoena as he had claimed, their case has to go back to lower federal courts to be heard, giving Trump some breathing space on that front.
It is the Stormy Daniels case which is the most consequential for Trump.
The Supreme Court rejected arguments by Trump's lawyers and the Justice Department that the president is immune from investigation while he holds office or that a prosecutor must show a greater need than normal to obtain the records of a president.
At one stage in the argument in a lower court, a Trump lawyer had argued that his boast he could 'shoot a man on Fifth Avenue' in New York without consequence was legally correct.
But the Supreme Court did not agree and handed Trump the defeat in a politically-consequential case on the last day of its term, wrapping up a session where Trump scored notable losses at the Roberts Court.
Nancy Pelosi, the Democratic House Speaker, crowed after the ruling that Trump's own judges had turned against him.
'The Supreme Court — including the president's appointees — have declared he is not above the law,' Pelosi told reporters on Capitol Hill Thursday after the ruling dropped.
'It is not good news for the president of the United States.'
She said House Democrats would continue their pursuit of Trump's financial records. 'We will continue to press our case in the lower courts,' she vowed.
It probably will be at least several weeks before the New York court issues a formal judgment that would trigger the turnover of the records.
Mazars and Deutsche Bank have already had months to locate the records. Mazars USA has said it would comply with a court order.
The ruling on the prosecutor's demand for the returns has immediate implications for Trump, who must face the voters in just four months – and now must prepare to contend with explosive reports about his sprawling business empire, multiple bankruptcies, and whatever else may emerge from the materials.
The case is knows as Trump v. Deutsch Bank, AG and Trump v. Vance, while the Congressional Democrats' suit was Trump v. Mazars.
In the Vance case, there are issues that could play out even beyond Trump's re-election – with the possibility that the tax information could be used to seek a grand jury criminal indictment if any wrongdoing is uncovered.
The New York Times, in an exhaustive story reported after the leak of Trump's father Fred Trump's tax returns by Trump niece Mary Trump - now the author of an excoriating family memoir - concluded the future president engaged in 'dubious tax schemes during the 1990s, including instances of outright fraud, that greatly increased the fortune he received from his parents.'
Chief Justice John Roberts authored both opinions – just the latest in recent weeks in which he has gone against Trump or his administration's interests.
Last month Roberts rejected Trump's bid to overturn the Deferred Action on Childhood Arrivals scheme - or DACA - in a 5-4 ruling, while he was part of the majority which backed Gorsuch in a 6-3 majority which extended employment protection to LGBTQ people.
Next round: Cyrus Vance Jr., the Manhattan district attorney, can now go back to court in the city and seek subpoenas for the tax returns
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