By Aaron Miller-
Donald Trump has announced his intention to fight a court order instructing him to release his tax returns.
The American president was ordered by a New York court to hand over his tax returns to state prosecutors after losing his appeal.
The order came as writer E Jean Carroll, who accused him of sexual assault, lodged a legal suit against the the president for defamation of character. Carroll who accused Trump of raping her in the 90’s has sued the president for accusing her of lying. She claims the president raped her at luxury Manhattan department store, Bergdorf Goodman.
With that suit in the works and a disturbing impeachment inquiry that agitates Trump with each waking day, the president is deeply locked in a legal battle. The fight to achieve a victorious outcome over the demand for his tax returns is not one Trump will give in easily.
Judges at the Federal Court ruled that the U.S president cannot claim immunity from disclosing tax returns spanning eight years”
The ruling by the three judges said:
”The only question before us is whether a state may lawfully demand production by a third party of the President’s personal financial records for use in a grand jury investigation while the President is in office,” wrote the judges, adding: “We hold that any presidential immunity from state criminal process does not bar the enforcement of a subpoena”. Trump vowed to appeal the ruling, setting the stage for a Supreme Court showdown over an issue which has been lingering for a long time now.
The Supreme Court will be the last stop for this appeal , and the president’s final shot at a reversal of the verdicts at the lower courts. Trump’s determination to keep his tax returns private remains as strong as that of those equally intent on obtaining them. The battle at the highest level.will mark another chapter in Trump’s ongoing political and legal burdens.