Trump loses latest court bid to block Congress from getting his income tax returns

Former U.S. President Donald Trump looks on during a rally in Warren, Michigan, U.S., October 1, 2022.

Donald Trump lost his latest attempt to stop the House Ways and Means Committee from receiving his income tax returns.

The federal appeals court in Washington, D.C. denied Trump's request to have the full lineup of judges on that court rehear his appeal of a lower court order.

The appeals court unanimously denied Trump's appeal in August.

The decision by the full appeals court on Thursday sets the stage for Trump to ask the Supreme Court to hear his case. The court doesn't have to give that request.

The Ways and Means Committee requested Trump's income tax returns from the Treasury Department in 2019. At the time, Trump was in office.

As a Republican candidate for president, Trump refused to release his tax returns, breaking a decades-old tradition.

A federal judge threw out the former president's challenge to the House committee obtaining his tax records from the Treasury Department as part of an inquiry into how the IRS audits presidential income tax returns.

While tax returns are generally confidential under federal law, when the Ways and Means Committee chair requests such returns in writing from the Treasury Department that guidance doesn't apply, that's when the D.C. circuit appeals court panel noted.