In a blockbuster ruling on Thursday, the Supreme Court struck down President Donald Trump's efforts to block New York investigators from obtaining his financial records.
In Trump v. Vance, the court ruled 7-2 in favor of the Manhattan district attorney's office, which subpoenaed Trumps's tax returns as it investigates whether he or his business violated state laws.
Chief Justice John Roberts delivered the majority opinion, in which Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor, and Elena Kagain joined. Justices Brett Kavanaugh and Neil Gorsuch filed a concurring opinion in the judgment, and Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito filed dissenting opinions.
In the case, the president's personal defense lawyer, Jay Sekulow, made a broad and unprecedented claim: that Trump is immune from any criminal investigation or prosecution while in office.
Justices on both sides of the aisle were highly skeptical of Sekulow's argument and repeatedly asked him to elaborate on why Trump should be above the law, and why the court should differentiate between a civil proceeding - like Clinton v. Jones, in which the court ruled that Bill Clinton had to respond to Paula Jones' lawsuit - and a criminal proceeding.
Carey Dunne, the general counsel for the Manhattan DA's office, highlighted the unprecedented nature of Sekulow's argument and said the president has "responsibilities like every other citizen."
He also argued that the office would have been "remiss" not to investigate Trump's taxes after public reports indicated that his company, which is headquartered in Manhattan, may have engaged in illegal activity.
Overall, the justices asked questions that aligned with each of their respective ideological camps. But Roberts frequently questioned lawyers for both sides with equal scrutiny, making it tougher to gauge which way he would ultimately rule on the cases.
All Rights Reserved © 2024
