The Supreme Court ruled that President Donald Trump does not have immunity from a subpoena issued by Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance, Jr. for eight years of his personal and corporate tax returns.

Chief Justice John Roberts penned the 7-2 opinion, writing, "the President is neither absolutely immune from state criminal subpoenas seeking his private papers nor entitled to a heightened standard of need."

Vance praised the ruling, calling it a "tremendous victory."

"This is 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.

While the decision is a major blow for Trump, it is unlikely that his tax returns will be made public before the presidential election in November, if ever, since they will be released to a grand jury which will keep them confidential.

In a separate decision, the Court blocked subpoenas for Trump's financial records issued by Congressional investigators, sending the case back to the lower courts for further review.

Roberts also wrote the decision in that case and argued that there must be limits on the subpoena powers that Congress has.

"Without limits on its subpoena powers, Congress could 'exert an imperious control' over the Executive Branch and aggrandize itself at the President's expense, just as the Framers feared," he wrote.

President Trump responded to the rulings in a series of tweets.

Garret Lewis

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