Former US President Donald Trump on Monday asked the US Supreme Court to block a judge’s order that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) must provide a House Committee with his tax returns for years later this week, CNBC reports, citing News. ro.

The request to delay the court order pending a planned appeal comes as Trump lost an attempt to overturn the ruling in a federal appeals court.

“This case raises important questions about the separation of powers that will affect every future president,” Trump’s lawyers said in an emergency request to President John Roberts.

The Chief Justice has jurisdiction over such motions in cases arising from the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.

Trump’s lawyers asked the court to take action by Wednesday to delay an appeals court ruling that allowed the IRS to file tax returns on Thursday.

The delay will give Trump time to formally ask the high court to hear an appeal of the ruling.

But lawyers also said the Supreme Court could consider Monday’s request as a request for a hearing.

Trump’s request accuses the House Committee of seeking to obtain Trump’s tax returns solely to release them, not to examine the president’s IRS audits, as he has claimed.

A Supreme Court case challenging the order could take months or even longer. And if Republicans regain control of the House majority in the upcoming midterm elections, pending resolution of the Supreme Court case, they are expected to end a three-year effort by the Ways and Means Committee to obtain his tax returns.

The commission requested the tax returns of Trump and affiliated business entities as part of an investigation into how the IRS audits the president’s tax returns.

The IRS, which is a division of the Treasury Department, is authorized by law to audit the annual tax returns of sitting presidents.

The commission subpoenaed Trump’s tax returns from 2015 to 2020 after then-Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin refused to comply with its request. (News.ro)