Ruth Bader Ginsburg temporarily blocks release of Trump's financial records
Ruth Bader Ginsburg came to the rescue of President Trump Friday and allowed his financial records to remain secret from House Democrats – for now.
The liberal Supreme Court Justice granted an emergency request from Trump’s lawyers to delay enforcement of subpoenas House Democrats issued to Deutsche Bank and Capital One for Trump’s bank records.
A lower court Tuesday ordered the banks to cooperate with Congress in handing over a treasure trove of Trump’s financial dealings in the midst of the House’s impeachment inquiry. But Ginsburg stayed the ruling until 5 pm on Dec. 13.
That’s when the Supreme Court is expected to vote on whether to take up at least one of the two pending cases involving Trump’s financial records.
The latest dispute is over three subpoenas issued by the Democratic-led House Intelligence Committee and House Financial Services Committee for bank records for Trump and three of his children, Don Jr, Ivanka and Eric Trump.
Trump’s lawyers argued the sweeping requests for records exceed the committee’s legal authority. But the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in New York ruled Dec. 3 the committees had legitimate legislative purposes for issuing the subpoenas and ordered the banks to promptly begin transmitting the documents in daily batches starting next week.
Ginsburg signed the order because she’s in charge of deciding emergency appeals out of New York.
Her decision in favor of Trump’s lawyers for a one-week delay isn’t considered an indication of how she’d rule on the merits of the broader records dispute between Trump and Congress.
Ginsburg – affectionately known as RBG – was nominated to the high court by President Bill Clinton in 1993. The 86-year-old has become an icon for the liberal left and for the Trump resistance.
Before he won the election, Ginsburg called Trump a “faker” in a July 2016 CNN interview and faulted him for failing to disclose his tax returns -- as is custom for presidential candidates.
"He has no consistency about him.
He says whatever comes into his head at the moment. He really has an ego. ... How has he gotten away with not turning over his tax returns? The press seems to be very gentle with him on that,” Ginsburg said.
Trump punched back by tweeting Ginsburg’s “mind is shot” and urging her to resign.
Fox News' Shannon Bream contributed to this report.
Ginsburg Puts Temporary Hold on Trump Financial Records Dispute
This article was sourced from NewsMax Politics
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on Friday put a temporary hold on a court ruling that would require records held by Deutsche Bank AG and Capital One Financial Corp to be handed over to Democratic-led congressional panels.
Trump's lawyers asked the high court to put a hold a Dec.
3 ruling by Manhattan-based 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals directing the two banks to comply with April subpoenas by the House of Representatives Financial Services Committee and Intelligence Committee for the financial records.
In a brief order, Ginsburg said that the lower court ruling is now on hold until Dec. 13.
The material sought by the committees includes records of accounts, transactions and investments linked to Trump, his three oldest children, their immediate family members and several Trump Organization entities.
Trump filed an appeal to the Supreme Court on Thursday in a separate case seeking to prevent the House Oversight Committee from obtaining financial records from Mazars LLP, Trump's longtime accounting firm.
An appeals court in Washington ruled against Trump in October.
The Supreme Court on Nov. 25 granted Trump's request to put the subpoena enforcement in that case on hold while the president appeals the matter. Both cases represent an important showdown over the powers of the presidency versus those of Congress.
The lower court rulings, if left intact, would bring House Democrats closer to getting some of the details about Trump's business interests even as they pursue an impeachment inquiry focusing on his dealings with Ukraine.
Trump, running for re-election in 2020, has fought to keep his financial and tax records private. He broke with tradition by not releasing his tax returns as a candidate in 2016 and as president.
Trump sued Deutsche Bank and Capital One in an effort to prevent the disclosure of his financial records. U.S. District Judge Edgardo Ramos ruled in May that the subpoenas could be enforced, prompting Trump's to appeal to the 2nd Circuit.
Trump in November also asked the Supreme Court to reverse a separate appeals court ruling that directed Mazars to hand over his personal and corporate tax returns from 2011 to 2018 to local prosecutors in New York City. The justices are due to discuss on Dec. 13 whether to hear Trump's appeal in that case.
In that same case, the office of Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance, a Democrat, is seeking the returns as part of a criminal investigation into Trump and the Trump Organization, the president's family real estate business.
The court has a 5-4 conservative majority that includes two Trump appointees: Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh.
All three cases could be put on a fast track, meaning that if the court decides to hear them, a ruling would be possible before the end of June, when its current term ends.
This article was sourced from LifeZette