Yesterday, the Supreme Court released a major decision granting Manhattan DA Cyrus Vance access to President Trump’s tax returns and business records.
- In a 7–2 decision, the
Robetrotters said the president has the same duty as everyone else to
produce evidence when subpoenaed (subpoena = order for participation in a
legal proceeding).
- Despite giving Vance the go-ahead, the court smacked down an effort by House Democrats to access those documents.
What Trump will (probably) have to turn over
In the
subpoena, Vance asked for Trump’s tax returns and business records
stretching back to 2011 from Mazars USA, Trump’s accounting firm. We
don’t know exactly what kind of misdeeds Vance is sniffing for, but we
know he’s investigating hush-money payments made to former adult film
actress Stormy Daniels and one other woman. Those payments were made
right before the 2016 election.
- Trump’s former personal
lawyer Michael Cohen has already been convicted of breaking federal
campaign finance laws for making those payments.
- But Vance can only bring charges under state law. Legal eagles told Bloomberg
that he’s probably investigating whether Trump’s business, the Trump
Organization, falsified records when Cohen was reimbursed for the
payments.
Falsifying
business records can be a felony in New York, but only if it’s done to
conceal illegal activity like tax fraud. If the Trump Organization paid
Cohen and took tax deductions on that payment, it would have effectively
gotten a tax break for paying hush money, which is what legal experts
call wrong.
In response, Trump tweeted that the investigations were “all a political prosecution.”
What happens next
The case
still has to be reviewed by lower courts, and the documents won’t be
made public anytime soon. They’re part of a grand jury proceeding, which
is what legal experts call top-secret.
Bottom line: Vance may get to peek at Trump’s transactions, but it’s almost certain the general electorate won’t before the November election.
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I AM A REPUBLICAN BORN AND BRED
IN AMERICA .I BELIEVE IN EQUALITY AND JUSTICE AND THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES.I SERVED IN THE UNITED STATES AIR FORCE
MAJORED IN GEOLOGY AND MUSIC AND WENT TO ANGELO STATE IN SAN ANGELO, TEXAS
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