Chief Justice John Roberts granted former President Donald Trump‘s request for the Supreme Court to delay his tax returns from being released to a Democratic-led House committee.
The administrative stay does not indicate what the court’s final ruling on the matter will be, but it allows the justices more time to deliberate. The delay is “pending further order of the undersigned or of the Court.”
The House Ways and Means committee requested to obtain his tax returns from the Internal Revenue Service for their work in reviewing the IRS auditing system for presidents and vice presidents.
The issue arrived after the high court after a federal appeals court allowed for the committee to obtain the documents last week.
Trump’s legal team argues that the committee is not requesting Trump’s tax returns for that sole purpose, and that they likely plan on leaking the information publicly.
Under federal law, tax records must stay private, though one of the exceptions is if the House Ways and Means committee requests it. Trump attorneys also contest that part of the law, questioning the constutionality of it.
If the Supreme Court had not stepped in, the documents would’ve been released to the committee on Thursday.
Trump broke precedent by being the first presidential nominee in modern history to not release his tax returns in 2016, which caused many to believe he has something to hide.
The House committee has until November 10 to issue a response.
On Tuesday, a spokesperson for the committee said it “maintains the law is on our side, and will file a timely response as requested.”
