The US Supreme Court ruled on Thursday that President Donald Trump must hand over financial records to prosecutors in New York.
In a 7-2 ruling, the court said the president does not have absolute immunity from criminal investigation.
The nation’s highest court also issued a ruling in a separate case concerning a request by Democratic-led congressional committees for Trump’s tax returns and financial records.
In a 7-2 ruling and a partial victory for Trump, the court sent the congressional case back to a lower court for further consideration.
Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance, a Democrat, has asked for eight years of the president’s financial records in connection with an alleged “hush money” payment made to porn actress and former Playboy model Stormy Daniels.
Trump’s attorneys had claimed the president was immune from criminal investigation — a claim rejected by the court.
“Two hundred years ago, a great jurist of our Court established that no citizen, not even the President, is categorically above the common duty to produce evidence when called upon in a criminal proceeding,” the court said. “We reaffirm that principle today.”
Vance called the ruling “a tremendous victory for our nation’s system of justice and its founding principle that no one – not even a president – is above the law.
“Our investigation, which was delayed for almost a year by this lawsuit, will resume, guided as always by the grand jury’s solemn obligation to follow the law and the facts, wherever they may lead,” Vance said.
AFP
