This is why the FBI raided Trump's residence 0:50
Washington (CNN)
A federal appeals court on Tuesday approved the House Ways and Means Committee's request to obtain former President Donald Trump's tax returns from the Internal Revenue Service. ).
The 3-0 ruling in the Washington City Circuit Court of Appeals represents a blow to Trump, who has fought for years in court not to reveal his tax returns to anyone who investigates him.
A trial judge he appointed when he was president previously rejected his arguments in the case.
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However, Trump can still appeal, so the litigation is unlikely to end at this time.
The court explained that the ruling would not be issued for another seven days, which would give the former president time to challenge the decision.
Now, this litigation is different from the House Select Committee investigation into the January 6 Capitol storming.
The majority opinion, written by Circuit Judge David Sentelle, says Ways and Means Commission Chairman Richard Neal's request for the records was within the scope of the investigation.
In that sense, the court also rejected Trump's argument that the request was motivated by retaliation and considered it invalid.
The Case for Trump's Taxes
Neal requested Trump's tax returns under a law that allows the commission to see an individual's records, a request the Trump administration denied.
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The appeals court said Tuesday that Trump failed to prove his argument that, as a former president, his tax returns should not be released.
"In this case, the need for information from Trump to inform potential legislation nullifies the burden on the Executive Branch in large part because that burden is so tenuous," Reagan appointee Sentelle wrote in the opinion.
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Judge Karen Henderson, appointed by George HW Bush, and Robert Wilkins, appointed by Obama, also agreed with the decision.
Although Henderson wrote that she believed there should be more scrutiny on a request like this that could have implications for the presidency.
The case stems from the lawsuit Neal filed in 2019 for an injunction to force the IRS, then under the Trump administration, to hand over the president's tax returns.
The litigation proceeded at a slow pace and has outlasted the Trump presidency.
In July of last year, the Justice Department signaled that it would change its position in the case in favor of the commission getting the results.
District Judge Trevor McFadden, a Trump appointee, agreed last December to requests from the department and the House to dismiss the case, prompting Trump's appeal to the Washington City Circuit.
House of RepresentativesTaxesIRS