The Supreme Court Lets Trump Run Out the Clock

[Zorro]

The justices reiterated that no president is above the law, but voters still won’t see his taxes before November.

In two major cases on Thursday, the Supreme Court rejected President Trump’s attempt to avoid all legal scrutiny of his financial records and reaffirmed the principle that undergirds any democratic society: No one, not even the president, is above the law.

That’s the good news. It’s also the bare minimum Americans should expect. The bad news is that Mr. Trump has again figured out how to game the legal system to his advantage, to dance along the edges of the law that the rest of us are expected to abide by.

The bottom line is that Mr. Trump will almost certainly get to keep hiding his tax returns (Remember those? The ones he promised to release five years ago?) and his other financial records from the American people, who will be asked to decide in a matter of months whether to give him another term.

From the day he took office, Mr. Trump has governed as though democratic checks and balances are optional. “I can do whatever I want,” he has said, more than once. This includes intervening in federal prosecutions to protect his friends, soliciting foreign interference in American elections and tear-gassing peaceful protesters for a photo op.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/09/opinion/supreme-court-trump-taxes.html

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

1. The public isn't going to see those tax returns anyhow, at least not until

the investigations are concluded. They are likely to be treated as grand jury evidence which is not made public unless/until a case goes to trial, so even if the court ordered them to be released tomorrow, the public would not see them until long after the election. These cases are important losses for Trump because they make the point that he is not above the law, contrary to his lawyers' ridiculous argument that a president can't even be investigated let alone required to produce documents. And on top of all the other losses he's had in court, it will add to his loser aura.

[BlueMTexpat]

2. There is always the possibility

of leakage ... just sayin'

And in the meantime, Biden can proudly cruise along on the fact that he HAS released his own returns, while Trump has NOT.

IOM, seeing his taxes would not affect Trumpets and STrumpets one iota in any event.

Make no mistake, the rulings were a huge blow to The Orange One!

[Kyl Notjon]

3. Similar Words, Different Source