Nov. 1 (UPI) — U.S. Supreme Court Justice John Roberts on Tuesday put a temporary hold on the release of former President Donald Trump‘s tax records to a House committee.
Roberts stayed the mandate of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, which he oversees, on the release of Trump’s tax returns to the House ways and means committee.
Roberts offered no explanation in his order other than to write the decision was made “upon consideration of the application of counsel for the applicants.”
Trump on Monday called on the high court to block the House committee from seeing his tax returns.
“The committee’s purpose in requesting President Trump’s tax returns has nothing to do with funding or staffing issues at the IRS and everything to do with releasing the president’s tax information to the public,” Trump’s lawyers said in a filing to the court.
The committee has sought the former president’s tax records since 2019 while he was still in office. Trump has drawn criticism for not releasing his tax returns either during his first campaign or while serving in office. President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris released their tax returns during their 2020 campaign. There is no law requiring the president or presidential candidates to release their tax returns, though it has become a custom.
On Thursday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia affirmed the House’s authority to request Trump’s tax returns. Committee Chairman Rep. Richard Neal, D-Mass., issued a statement saying Trump was trying to “delay the inevitable.”
The tax returns could reveal the nature of Trump’s various business dealings before and during his presidency. His business empire, Trump Organization, is on trial in New York for allegedly paying its top executives under the table in a scheme to avoid paying taxes.
Justice Roberts called for a response to his decision by Nov. 10.
