IRS asks Supreme Court not to block Congress from getting Trump’s tax records

Former U.S. President Donald Trump makes a fist while reacting to applause after speaking at the North Carolina GOP convention dinner in Greenville, North Carolina, June 5, 2021.

The IRS and Treasury Department appealed to the Supreme Court against blocking the lower court ruling that required them to turn over Donald Trump's tax returns.

In a legal brief, the IRS and Treasury said that Trump's request for a delay couldn't meet the demands for extraordinary relief.

The House Ways and Means Committee asked the Supreme Court to deny Trump both further delay and his request that the court hear his appeal of lower court rulings against him.

Lawyers for the committee wrote that there was no reason to issue emergency relief pending appeal.

A temporary block on the committee getting the tax returns of Trump and related business entities was issued by the Chief Justice.

The high court is currently considering whether to allow Trump to appeal a lower court order allowing the committee to get the tax records.

The Ways and Means Committee is looking into how the IRS audits presidential taxes. Each year, presidential tax returns are audited.

The committee could get the returns if the block is not maintained.

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The former president was unsuccessful in trying to stop the committee from getting the records.

The Supreme Court was asked to hear Trump's appeal after he refused to publicly release his tax returns.

The high court doesn't always give such requests. The Ways and Means would be able to get his tax returns if it was denied.

The federal appeals court correctly held that the request for the tax records by the committee's chairman was a legitimate legislative purpose, according to the filing.

Trump's lawyers argued that the appeals court should have looked beyond the stated purpose and that the request for the records was also motivated by political considerations.

For nearly a century, this Court has refused toentangle the judiciary in such inquiries into the motives alleged to have prompted a congressional request.