As of: 08/09/2022 8:21 p.m
In the dispute over his tax returns, ex-US President Trump has suffered another defeat: an appeals court ruled that he must disclose the documents to a committee of the House of Representatives.
Former US President Donald Trump has suffered another defeat in a lawsuit over the release of his tax documents to a House committee. A District of Columbia appeals court ruled that Trump must release the documents.
The judges found that the committee’s demands did not violate the principle of the separation of powers or the constitution. “Every president takes office knowing that once he leaves office he is subject to the same laws as any other citizen. This is a feature of our democratic republic, not a mistake,” the verdict says.
“We expect to receive the requested tax returns and audit papers immediately,” the committee tweeted following the judge’s verdict. The decision is not yet final, Trump can appeal once morest it.
Tax return not made public
The ex-president has been resisting the release of his tax documents for years. The Treasury Department of Trump’s successor Joe Biden’s administration instructed the IRS last year to hand over the documents to the committee.
Contrary to political practice in the USA, the real estate entrepreneur Trump had not made his tax return public either as a presidential candidate or following moving into the White House. Critics therefore suspect that he has something to hide. The current decision confirms a previous court ruling.
Just yesterday, the FBI federal police investigated Trump’s property in the US state of Florida for another matter. It was regarding government documents that the ex-president is said to have taken from the White House to his residence in Mar-a-Lago.
