Pelosi says Supreme Court rulings on tax returns 'not good news' for Trump

close

Video

Pergram: SCOTUS decision on Trump taxes may actually help House Democrats

The Supreme Court defers issuing a definitive ruling on whether congressional committees can have access to President Trump's financial records; Chad Pergram reports from Capitol Hill on the fallout.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the House will continue to press for President Trump's financial records in lower courts after the Supreme Court on Thursday blocked Congress from getting Trump's tax returns immediately.

“A careful reading of the Supreme Court rulings related to the president’s financial records is not good news for President Trump," Pelosi said.

SUPREME COURT PUNTS, DENIES TRUMP IMMUNITY BUT BLOCKS HOUSE DEMS FROM TAX DOCS

Pelosi, D-Calif., said she didn't expect the Supreme Court to rule that Congress could get the records immediately, but at least the high court reaffirmed in a 7-2 opinion that Congress has a pathway to obtain documents and that Trump is not above the law, she said.

"Seven to two," Pelosi said at a news conference of the majority opinion of the court. "Even the president's appointees say the president of the United States is not above the law."

The Supreme Court didn't issue a definitive ruling Thursday on whether congressional committees can access Trump's financial records, and sent the case back to the lower courts.

The case involves subpoenas from four Democratic-led House committees for banking and accounting records involving Trump and his family. The ruling sets up more court proceedings for Democrats and means it's highly unlikely Congress would get the records before the November election.

SUPREME COURT RULES IN FAVOR OF LITTLE SISTERS OF THE POOR IN OBAMACARE CONTRACEPTION CASE

Though the congressional term will end in January, Pelosi said the House will continue to pursue the documents in the lower courts. While "the process will take longer," Pelosi cheered the court's decision affirming Congress' authority to conduct oversight on the presidency and called it a "victory" for the U.S. Constitution.

"We have a path that the Supreme Court has laid out that we certainly will not ignore. And we will never stop our oversight. That is our responsibility under the Constitution of the United States," Pelosi said.

In a separate case, the Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that Trump is not immune from a subpoena over his financial and tax records issued by Democratic Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Vance had subpoenaed Trump's records as part of a criminal investigation into potential wrongdoing by the president and his organization.

"President is neither absolutely immune from state criminal subpoenas seeking his private papers nor entitled to a heightened standard of need," Chief Justice John Roberts wrote in the court's majority opinion in the New York case.

Fox News' Tyler Olson and Bill Mears contributed to this report,