Nov 8, 2019 - Politics & Policy

Trump intends to take tax return fight to Supreme Court

Orion Rummler

President Trump at a Georgia rally on Nov. 8, in Atlanta, Georgia. Photo: Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images

President Trump's lawyers intend to petition the U.S. Supreme Court by Nov. 14 to review a lower court ruling requiring the president to turn over eight years of his tax returns to a state grand jury, according to a letter written Friday.

Why it matters: This case would mark the first time the Supreme Court makes a decision on Trump's legal argument — that he is immune from criminal investigation while in office — and could "produce a major statement on the limits of presidential power," the New York Times reports.

Details: The Second Circuit Court of Appeals, which said on Monday that Trump must turn over his tax returns, dodged Trump's legal arguments that he is exempt from criminal investigations while in the White House. Instead, the court stated the president’s accounting firm is being subpoenaed for the documents — rather than Trump himself.

Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance subpoenaed Trump's tax returns as part of an investigation into hush-money payments allegedly made to Stormy Daniels by by the Trump Organization during the 2016 election.

Background: Trump has filed at least three lawsuits to block the release of his tax returns. The president, his family and his company also filed a lawsuit against Deutsche Bank to block the bank from complying with congressional subpoenas for their business records.

Read the letter from Trump's lawyers:

Go deeper: Appeals court rules against Trump on his tax returns

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Trump intends to take tax return fight to Supreme Court

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