Trump Taxes: Ruth Bader Ginsburg Puts Temporarily Hold On President's Financial Records Subpoena

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on Friday temporarily blocked an order for President Trump's financial records to be submitted to Congress, as his legal team pushes to prevent the release of his personal tax returns.

On Dec. 3, the U.S. Court of Second Appeals in Manhattan directed Deutsche Bank AG and Capital One Financial Group to turn over Trump's financial records to congressional investigators but Ginsburg has put this ruling on hold until Dec. 13. Two congressional committees — the House of Representatives Financial Services Committees and Intelligence Committee — had subpoenaed information on accounts and investments tied to Trump and his three oldest children.

Trump's legal team on Thursday mounted a defense in a separate legal case, seeking to prevent the House Oversight Committee from obtaining eight years of Trump's tax returns. Trump's lawyers claim that the Committee exceeded its authority by asking his accounting firm Mazars USA to turn over the returns.

The Oversight Committee wants the returns in order to verify the testimony of former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen, who claims that Trump routinely overstates or understates his financial assets for various purposes.

Trump's legal team has claimed that the Supreme Court should decide on whether the tax returns should be released. “At its core, this controversy is about whether — and to what degree — Congress can exercise dominion and control over the Office of the President,” Trump lawyers Jay Sekulow and William Consovoy wrote. “These are profoundly serious constitutional questions that the court should decide.”

Another major Trump financial case that could go to the Supreme Court is whether Trump paid hush-money to adult actress Stormy Daniels and model Karen McDougal before the 2016 election, which was reportedly facilitated by Cohen. Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. has subpoenaed eight years of Trump tax returns as part of the probe, with Trump suing Vance in retaliation.

If Trump's tax returns are released it could influence voters and possibly show that he paid very little in personal taxes.

President Richard Nixon became the first president in the modern era to release his tax returns in 1973, with presidents since then at least releasing some of their tax records.