The Supreme Court granted President Donald Trump an emergency stay in his attempt to block Congress from enforcing a subpoena for his tax returns, The Associated Press reports.
The court on Monday ruled that Trump’s longtime accounting firm Mazars USA did not have to immediately turn over the president’s tax returns to Congress even though a lower court upheld the subpoena in October.
Trump’s lawyers now have until December 5 to formally appeal the lower court’s ruling.
“The delay announced late Monday allows the justices to decide how to handle the House subpoena and a similar demand from the Manhattan district attorney at the same time,” The AP reported.
The court’s decision whether to take up the case is not expected until the middle of January, according to the report.
Trump fighting second battle on taxes:
The legal battle over the tax returns from his account firm comes as the president is trying to fight off a subpoena from Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance to obtain his tax returns from Mazars.
Mazars has said it would comply with any legal obligation.
If the Supreme Court takes up both cases it may not decide on them until late June. If they reject Trump’s appeals, Mazars would immediately be required to turn over Trump’s tax returns to Vance and to Congress.
Trump argues he’s totally immune:
Trump’s argument in the Manhattan case is a wildly ambitious take on executive privilege. Noting that the Justice Department has opined that sitting presidents are immune from prosecution, Trump’s attorneys argued that the president is therefore immune from all investigations.
Trump’s personal attorneys said in court filings that Trump cannot be “investigated… or otherwise subjected to the criminal process.”
A judge later rejected that claim, prompting Trump’s appeal.
