ROBSTOWN, TEXAS – OCTOBER 22: Former U.S President Donald Trump speaks at a ‘Save America’ rally on October 22, 2022 in Robstown, Texas. The former president, alongside other Republican nominees and leaders held a rally where they energized supporters and voters ahead of the midterm election. (Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
Democrats on the House Ways and Means Committee who have been seeking access to former President Donald Trump’s tax records were dealt a blow today in the Supreme Court. Chief Justice John Roberts issued a stay, temporarily granting Trump permission to refuse the committee’s demand for information after his legal team filed with the Court on Monday.
“Upon consideration of the application of counsel for the applicants, it is so ordered that the mandate of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, case No. 21-5289, is hereby stayed pending further order of the undersigned or of the court,” Roberts wrote.
Democrats on the committee have been after Trump’s financials since 2019 and were supported in their efforts by President Joe Biden’s Department of Justice in 2021 when it said that Congress should have them.
Last week, Trump’s request to stay was denied by the DC Circuit Court. At the time, House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal (D-MA) stated that Trump was trying “to delay the inevitable.” “We’ve waited long enough—we must begin our oversight of the IRS’s mandatory presidential audit program as soon as possible,” he continued.
Chief Justice Roberts’ order states that the committee should respond by noon on November 10.
