McCarthy calls NY requests for Trump tax returns political

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) said the New York district attorney’s subpoena for President Trump’s tax returns is politically motivated after the Supreme Court ruled Trump cannot prevent Manhattan prosecutors from obtaining his financial records. 

McCarthy didn’t offer an opinion on the 7-2 ruling by the Supreme Court, but sought to defend Trump.

“It seems to me the New York district attorney and others that have tried for it — it seems much more political than anything else,” he said.

McCarthy’s comments echoed Trump, who blasted the ruling as “political prosecution.”

In a pair of 7-2 rulings, the court upheld a Manhattan district attorney subpoena for eight years of Trump’s financial documents, including his personal and corporate tax returns, but declined to grant Congress access to records subpoenaed by a trio of Democratic-led House committees.

Top Democrats have been highly critical of Trump’s decision not to release his tax returns, accusing him of a lack of transparency. 

“The Court has reaffirmed the Congress’s authority to conduct oversight on behalf of the American people, as it asks for further information from the Congress. Congress’s constitutional responsibility to uncover the truth continues, specifically related to the President’s Russia connection that he is hiding,” Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said in a statement.