The Supreme Court announced on Friday that it will hear President Trump’s petition to prevent the release of his financial records.
During his 2016 presidential campaign, Trump pledged to release his financial records if he took office. But since then he has refused to make good on his pledge, leading his opponents to seek the records in court.
House Democrats have tried to force Trump to release the records through various lawsuits, so far without success. Meanwhile, Manhattan district attorney Cyrus Vance has been attempting to gain access to the records from Trump’s accounting firm, Mazars LLP, for an investigation into the Trump campaign’s hush-money payments to adult-film actress Stormy Daniels. Daniels has repeatedly alleged that she had an affair with Trump, which the president denies.
The Supreme Court will rule on three cases simultaneously: Vance’s and two other Democrat-initiated petitions of Mazars and Deutsche Bank (the largest lender to the Trump Organization) to release the president’s financial records.
“The cases are consolidated, and a total of one hour is allotted for oral argument,” the Court announced. “The cases will be set for argument in the March 2020 argument session.” Trump’s legal team reacted favorably to the decision.
“We are pleased that the Supreme Court has taken up these three cases of significant constitutional issues,” Trump attorney Jay Sekulow told ABC. “We look forward to presenting written and oral arguments.”
In its original appeal to the Court, Trump’s legal team argued that the cases touch on various constitutional issues regarding the separation of powers in government. The Court’s decision on the cases is expected sometime in June of next year.