Former U.S. President Donald Trump shakes his fist in response to applause after speaking at the North Carolina Republican Party Convention Dinner on June 5, 2021 in Greenville, North Carolina.
Jonathan Drake | Reuters
The IRS and Treasury Department on Thursday asked the Supreme Court not to block a lower court ruling requiring former President Donald Trump’s federal tax returns to be submitted to Congress.
The IRS and Treasury Department said in a legal brief that President Trump’s urgent deferment request “fails to meet the stringent criteria for that particular relief.”
Shortly after that filing, the House Ways and Means Committee seeking Trump’s records told the Supreme Court to approve both Trump’s further stay and his request for the court to hear an appeal of the lower court’s ruling against him. I submitted my own letter requesting a refusal. case.
Lawyers for the Democratic-controlled committee wrote that “further review by this court would be unwarranted and there is not necessarily a basis for issuing emergency relief pending appeal.”
The filing comes nine days after Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts issued a temporary block to the committee to obtain tax returns for Trump and related entities from the IRS.
Roberts’ lawsuit comes after seeking a stay pending a High Court ruling on whether Trump can appeal a lower court order allowing the commission to obtain tax records.
The Ways and Means Commission says it wants the proceeds from the Treasury Department as part of an investigation into how the IRS audits presidential taxes. The President’s tax returns are automatically audited each year by law.
If the Supreme Court does not maintain the bloc, the commission could get restitution soon.
The former president lost legal efforts in federal court in Washington, DC and the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia to stop the commission from obtaining the records.
As a White House candidate and resident, Trump, who broke decades of precedent by refusing to publicly release his tax returns, asked the Supreme Court to hear his appeal. rice field.
The High Court does not automatically grant such requests. Denying Trump’s demands would clear the way for Ways & Means to obtain the tax returns.
In Thursday’s filing, Treasury Department and IRS Attorney General Elizabeth Preloger said the federal appeals court ruled that the commission’s request for tax records served a “legitimate legislative purpose.” I made the right decision,” he wrote.
Prelogar said Trump’s attorney argued that the appeals court should look beyond its purpose and considered evidence that the request for the records was “also motivated by political considerations.”
“But for nearly a century, the Court has refused to involve the judiciary in such investigations into the ‘purported motives’ of Congress’ demands supported by a valid legislative purpose,” said the general secretary. wrote.
