The US Supreme Court ruled that prosecutors can obtain Trump's tax returns but that Congress cannot.
ADVERTISEMENTThe US Supreme Court ruled on Thursday that a prosecutor could obtain President Donald Trump's tax returns as part of a criminal investigation, but that Congress could not.
The two cases were heard by telephone in May because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Trump has fought to keep his financial records hidden, and the ruling in the second case likely means they will not be revealed to the public until after the November election.
Trump's lawyers had argued that the president was immune from investigation while he holds office.
His tax returns are sought by Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance as part of a grand jury investigation.
The accounting firm Mazars that holds the records said they would comply with a court order but it could be at least several weeks before the court issues a formal judgment that would trigger the turnover of the records.
US congressional committees wanted records from Deutsche Bank, Capital One and the Mazars USA accounting firm.
The records from Mazars concerned hush-money payments to women from talking about claims of extramarital affairs with Trump.
Both of Trump's Supreme Court appointees Brett Kavanaugh and Neil Gorsuch joined the majority in the opinions.
The US president responded with a tirade on Twitter complaining of a "political witch hunt", slamming his enemies and claiming that he has done "more than any President in history".