President Donald Trump has infamously refused to release his tax returns, although presidential candidates have voluntarily done so for decades. This week, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Manhattan authorities could access the tax returns, and although they technically referred the case for further proceedings, they dealt a major loss to the president in the process. A full seven out of the nine justices on the court ruled against the president, including both of the justices who Trump nominated. Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden promptly trolled Trump on Twitter after the Supreme Court tax ruling.
U.S. SUPREME COURT RULES FOR NEW YORK GRAND JURY OVER BID TO OBTAIN TRUMP'S FINANCIAL RECORDS, INCLUDING TAX RETURNS
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) July 9, 2020
In a late 2019 video message, which Biden re-upped this Thursday, Biden went after Trump for his melodramatic complaints about supposed corruption on the part of the Biden family. A plot to expose some of that baselessly alleged corruption underpinned the president’s attempt to bribe Ukraine into investigating the Bidens, which sparked Trump’s impeachment after the bribery plot was revealed.
In the original video, Biden says:
‘Mr. President, even Richard Nixon released his tax returns. Mr. President, release your tax returns, or shut up.’
After the Supreme Court ruling, Biden retweeted the video, adding the additional caption:
‘As I was saying.’
Check it out below:
As I was saying. https://t.co/NwOKjL0Zhj
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) July 9, 2020
Trump’s tax returns could contain crucial information about the president’s financial background, including fraud that he’s perpetrated. Specifically, the Manhattan District Attorney’s office subpoenaed Trump’s tax returns as part of a larger trove of financial records amidst their investigation into the Trump Organization’s role in a criminal hush money scheme targeting women with whom Trump had affairs. (House Democrats had also subpoenaed Trump’s tax returns, but the Supreme Court ruled against them on Thursday, although that case was also technically referred for further proceedings.)
💥 BREAKING: TRUMP LOSES SUPREME COURT BATTLE WITH NEW YORK PROSECUTOR OVER HIS TAXES AND FINANCIAL RECORDS
— Steven Mazie (@stevenmazie) July 9, 2020
The president’s tax returns could also include details of his financial conflicts of interest. He’s done business around the world for decades, and now, he’s dubiously expected to act without bias towards countries that may have been business partners at one point. The Trump Organization’s ties to Russia and Russian businesspeople have been among the many points of concern.
Check out Twitter’s response to Biden below:
