This Thursday, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Manhattan authorities could access President Donald Trump’s tax returns as part of an investigation into the Trump Organization. The ruling was 7-2, with both of Trump’s nominees to the bench, including Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh, among those who ruled against the president. The ruling capped off years of battling over the president’s financial records, which he’s refused to release, despite decades of precedent of presidential candidates voluntarily doing so. President Trump promptly freaked out after the Supreme Court ruling, with a meltdown of six tweets and counting.
💥 BREAKING: TRUMP LOSES SUPREME COURT BATTLE WITH NEW YORK PROSECUTOR OVER HIS TAXES AND FINANCIAL RECORDS
— Steven Mazie (@stevenmazie) July 9, 2020
Within an hour of the court’s Manhattan case ruling, Trump ignorantly tweeted:
‘The Supreme Court sends case back to Lower Court, arguments to continue. This is all a political prosecution. I won the Mueller Witch Hunt, and others, and now I have to keep fighting in a politically corrupt New York. Not fair to this Presidency or Administration!.. Courts in the past have given “broad deference”. BUT NOT ME!’
The Supreme Court sends case back to Lower Court, arguments to continue. This is all a political prosecution. I won the Mueller Witch Hunt, and others, and now I have to keep fighting in a politically corrupt New York. Not fair to this Presidency or Administration!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 9, 2020
Courts in the past have given “broad deference”. BUT NOT ME!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 9, 2020
In reality, in the ruling, Chief Justice John Roberts, who is an appointee of George W. Bush, outlined how there are literal hundreds of years of legal precedent outlining how the president is not exempt from basic legal standards like complying with subpoenas. Trump had sued his accounting firm and the Manhattan district attorney in an effort to keep the accounting firm from complying with the Manhattan subpoena for his tax returns, but as Roberts explained, Trump’s not going to get special treatment.
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
‘Article II and the Supremacy Clause do not categorically preclude, or require a heightened standard for, the issuance of a state criminal subpoena to a sitting President… In 1807, John Marshall, presiding as Circuit Justice for Virginia over the treason trial of Aaron Burr, granted Burr’s motion for a subpoena duces tecum directed at President Jefferson… In the two centuries since Burr, successive Presidents from Monroe to Clinton have accepted Marshall’s ruling that the Chief Executive is subject to subpoena and have uniformly agreed to testify when called in criminal proceedings.’
As Roberts noted, in that original 1807 case in which the question of subpoenas targeting sitting presidents came up, those on the president’s side had argued that the president’s “duties as chief magistrate demand his whole time for national objects” — but at the time, the judge ruled that those duties were not so overwhelming as to prohibit compliance with a subpoena. The same applies to Trump.
7-2 in the Vance case!
Trump loses!
— George Conway (@gtconway3d) July 9, 2020
After all of the above, Trump tweeted what looked like a pre-prepared statement condemning the Supreme Court ruling. (Perhaps he was expecting to lose.) The four-tweet statement, all of which went up at about the same time, included lengthy complaints about the supposed injustice of a demand for him to comply with basic legal precedent while his political opponents remained free. Trump has accused those opponents, including Obama, Biden, and others, of imaginary crimes.
….No Republican Senate Judiciary response, NO “JUSTICE”, NO FBI, NO NOTHING. Major horror show REPORTS on Comey & McCabe, guilty as hell, nothing happens. Catch Obama & Biden cold, nothing. A 3 year, $45,000,000 Mueller HOAX, failed – investigated everything….
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 9, 2020
…Won all against the Federal Government and the Democrats send everything to politically corrupt New York, which is falling apart with everyone leaving, to give it a second, third and fourth try. Now the Supreme Court gives a delay ruling that they would never have given…
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 9, 2020
Check out Twitter’s response to the president below:
