Donald Trump lashed out at the Supreme Court after they ruled the ex-president must hand over his tax records to the Manhattan district attorney, paving the way for a New York grand jury to review his financial records.

The move served as a post-presidency defeat to Trump, who has for years battled to keep his tax records private, and paves the way for a New York grand jury to review his long-sought financial records.

In a long-form response posted to Gab, Trump said it was a continuation of his "political persecution" that wasn't justice, but was "fascism".

It came as Joe Biden announced he would lower flags at half-mast for five days to mark the US Crossing half a million Covid deaths, almost 90,000 of which have occurred in the month since he took office. Biden held a moment of silence and candle lighting ceremony at the White House on Monday night to mark the grim milestone.

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