John,
Yesterday, the Supreme Court vindicated an essential democratic principle: no one, not even the president, is above the law.
The decisions in two cases regarding subpoenas for President Trump’s financial information by Congress and a Manhattan grand jury were an important victory—however, the practical impact will unfortunately be to further delay access to the information. Both plaintiffs should continue in their efforts to obtain Trump’s financial records, but the real power does not rest with them: it is up to the American people to demand that Trump be held accountable and to fight for a government where basic transparency is not in question.
For more, read my op-ed in USA Today about these important rulings.
President Trump has tried to dismantle checks and balances and evade accountability for the last three and a half years. But as yesterday's decisions make clear, he cannot avoid accountability forever, and checks and balances still matter.
As much as yesterday's decisions are an important victory, they should never have been necessary. Trump should not have been allowed to take the oath of office without first releasing his financial information to the American people. We desperately need reform, and we need a faster way to resolve legal disputes between the president and Congress. That urgently-needed reform is beyond the scope of a few Supreme Court cases—it is up to the American people to agitate for real accountability, oversight, and reform.
At CREW, we’ll continue pressing for bold reforms, and we hope you’ll join us in the fight.
Thank you,
Noah Bookbinder
Executive Director, CREW
P.S. At CREW, we’re in this for the long haul—we’ve taken more than 600 legal actions during Trump’s presidency, and we’re going to keep fighting for accountability no matter what.
If you’d like to help us keep up the fight, please consider making a matched donation now—a generous donor is matching up to $80,000 in donations to CREW during the month of July.
