WASHINGTON: The US Supreme Court has heard arguments on whether President Donald Trump should be allowed to keep his financial records secret, in a major showdown over presidential powers.
Trump has refused to share documents that could shed light on his fortune and the work of his family company, the BBC reported on Tuesday. Two congressional committees and New York prosecutors demand the release of his tax returns and other information.
Trump’s private lawyers argue he enjoys total immunity while in office. A ruling is expected within weeks. Unlike other recent presidents, Trump has refused to release his tax returns and a decision against him could result in his personal financial information becoming public in the campaign season.
Experts say the ruling will have far-reaching implications for the ability of Congress to scrutinise the activities of sitting presidents and of prosecutors to investigate them.
The judges heard the cases remotely because of the coronavirus pandemic. The Supreme Court has a 5-4 conservative majority and includes two Trump appointees – Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh. In the three cases, Trump’s lawyers tried to block the subpoenas – orders to hand over evidence. Lower courts in Washington and New York ruled against the president in all cases, but those decisions have been put on hold pending a final court ruling.
Two committees at the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives demanded financial records from two banks that did deals with Trump – Deutsche Bank and Capital One – as well as from Mazars, the president’s accountants.
Deutsche Bank was one of the few banks willing to lend to Mr Trump after a series of corporate bankruptcies in the 1990s, and the documents sought to include records related to the president, the Trump Organization and his family. Trump’s lawyers argued that Congress had no authority to issue the subpoenas, and no valid justification to seek the records.
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