Newsweek by Roger Parloff 12/17/2019
President Donald Trump's most jealously guarded secrets—his financial records, including tax returns—will probably remain hidden from voters until after the next election.
That's just one likely consequence of the U.S. Supreme Court's red-letter decision earlier this month to hear three cases, involving five subpoenas, seeking those records. Though the Justices will hear arguments in March and rule by next June—several months before we go to the polls—it seems increasingly doubtful that they will order a quick, clean turnover of the president's crown jewels.
Rather, the Court's decision to review these cases signals that ninety-two years of legal precedent concerning the investigative powers of Congress may be due for an overhaul. Precisely what will emerge is anyone's guess, except that it will be momentous.
The subpoenas, issued by three Congressional committees and a state grand jury in Manhattan, seek the records of Trump, his three oldest children—Donald Jr., Ivanka and Eric—The Trump Organization and a dense tangle of affiliated business entities.
Since 1927, when the Court decided a case stemming from the Teapot Dome scandal of the Warren Harding Administration, the law in this area has been fairly clear. Congress has had broad investigative leeway to inform its legislative functions. So long as it could articulate a "legislative purpose" for the information sought, courts would not second-guess its motives.
But while Congressional subpoenas were once rare, their use has been accelerating since the 1970s. Since taking control of the House in January, Democrats have demanded documents from more than 100 Trump allies or businesses. In response, Trump has stonewalled. "We're fighting all the subpoenas," he vowed last April.
More:
https://www.newsweek.com/when-will-voters-see-donald-trump-tax-returns-1477714
