Trump tax returns: Supreme Court temporarily blocks release of financial documents

The Supreme Court has temporarily stopped a lower court order requiring Donald Trump to turn over his tax returns to House Democrats as a part of their impeachment probe, giving the high court time to decide whether to hear the president's challenge to the ruling.

The decision was announced on Monday, with chief justice John G Roberts writing that they had granted the Trump administration's request for a stay on the federal appeals court ruling until "further order".

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Before this ruling, the president's longtime accounting firm Mazars USA had been compelled by the US appeals court in Washington to hand over Mr Trump's financial records, following a subpoena from house Democrats. Mr Trump has asked the court to protect his financial records from House investigators as well as the Manhattan district attorney's office in New York, which is conducting a separate investigation into issues related to the president.

Both sides now must file the necessary paperwork with the Supreme Court, so that the justices can decide whether to take up the case.

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