Trump reaches out to Supreme Court to block lawmakers from accessing his tax returns

With an aim to prevent a House of Representatives committee from gaining access to his tax returns, former US President Donald Trump has reached out to the Supreme Court. He has requested for an intervention in the fight as he claims the motivation behindreaching out for his tax records is political.

He filed an emergency request asking to put on hold a lower court ruling that upheld the Democratic-led House Ways and Means Committee's request for the tax materials citing them as a justified part of its legislative work.

"If allowed to stand, it will undermine the separation of powers and render the office of the Presidency vulnerable to invasive information demands from political opponents in the legislative branch," Trump's lawyers wrote, referring to the division of authority among the three branches of the US government.

The committee had sued Trump to force disclosure of the tax returns. It had invoked a federal law that empowers the chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee to request any person's tax returns from the IRS.

Apparently, Trump was the first president in four decades not to release his tax returns. He has been trying to keep the details of his wealth and the activities of his company, the Trump Organization, secret.

Democrats say that Trump's tax returns need to be seen to understand if the IRS is properly auditing presidential returns and to assess whether new legislation is needed. Trump's lawyers are not convinced by the reasoning and believe the real aim is to dig up politically damaging information about him since he is considering another run for the presidency in 2024.

US District Judge Trevor McFadden had dismissed the case in 2021 saying that the committee holds broad authority over a former president's tax returns. In August, the District of Columbia US Circuit Court of Appeals also ruled against Trump, concluding that "every president takes office knowing that he will be subject to the same laws as all other citizens upon leaving office."

(With inputs from agencies)