Donald Trump’s financial records must include some damning information. He has fought all the way to the Supreme Court then down and all the way back to the Supreme Court again in an effort to prevent his records from being released. At last, the Court made its final decision.
Those records that he has struggled to keep away from the Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. include years of his tax returns. The first time Trump’s attorneys took the case to the Supreme Court, the court allowed the documents to be opened.
The second time Trump’s attorneys took the case to the Supreme Court, it refused to block a grand jury subpoena for those records. None of the justices, including those appointed by Trump, dissented.
Trump is the subject of numerous investigations both in New York and in other states. The fight for his personal and business financial records has been in play since 2011. Vance is looking for possible tax violations in regard to the president’s company, the Trump Organization.
Vance started out focusing on the hush-money Trump’s former personal lawyer Michael Cohen paid for his boss’ benefit. The money was paid to two women who had a sexual relationship with the president while First Lady Melania Trump was caring for their new infant son. One of the women was an adult entertainer, and the other woman had a long-term relationship with the then-businessman.
Since then, Vance has expanded the investigation. According to a court filing in mid-2020:
‘[Vance considered] insurance and bank fraud by the Trump Organization and its officers [and] dubious tax schemes during the 1990s, including instances of outright fraud.’
The president’s former long-term personal attorney, Michael Cohen, released a statement that read:
‘The Supreme Court has now proclaimed that no one is above the law. Trump will, for the first time, have to take responsibility for his own dirty deeds.’
Cohen testified before Congress in 2019. That was when he claimed that Trump had two sets of books. The one inflated his real estate holdings’ value for bank loans. The other deflated the value for tax and insurance benefits.
A top New York criminal defense lawyer Joseph Tacopina spoke to CNBC about Vance’s continual quest for Trump’s tax records. That indicates the former president believes they would be evidence in criminal conduct:
‘Cy Vance is fighting way too hard for this case to fall down. He seems to be on to something.’
The Supreme Court’s decision on Monday came in a single line:
‘The application for a stay presented to Justice Breyer and referred to the Court is denied.’
In the opinion, Roberts wrote that such immunity did not exist:
‘In our judicial system, “the public has a right to every man’s evidence.” Since the earliest days of the Republic, “every man” has included the President of the United States.’
The Mueller Report Adventures: In Bite-Sizes on this Facebook page. These quick, two-minute reads interpret the report in normal English for busy people. Mueller Bite-Sizes uncovers what is essentially a compelling spy mystery. Interestingly enough, Mueller Bite-Sizes can be read in any order.
