US Supreme Court to Hear Dispute Over Trump Documents

Facts

• The US Supreme Court has decided to take up a case concerning whether Democratic Party lawmakers should be allowed to sue to obtain documents surrounding the former Washington, D.C., hotel owned by former Pres. Trump.¹
• Democrats on the House Oversight Committee first launched their legal bid against the then-executive branch to retrieve the records in 2017, having been denied access to information about the Trump International Hotel by the former president.²
• The case, officially called Carnahan v. Maloney, was dismissed in 2018 by a federal circuit court before the decision was overturned in a US Court of Appeals by a 2-1 panel vote in 2020.³
• Democrats wish to investigate how in 2013 a lease agreement between the General Services Administration (GSA) and the Trump Old Post Office LLC allowed a federal office to be transformed into a hotel. Trump sold the hotel in 2022, which is now reopened as a Waldorf Astoria.⁴
• The case currently sees House Democrats face off against the Biden Administration, who have aligned with the Trump-era policy to only respond to demands for information from the House majority.⁵
• Lawsuits have accused Trump of violating the US Constitution's anti-corruption provisions by maintaining ownership of his businesses while in office. Despite this, the Biden admin. has appealed to SCOTUS on the basis of potentially setting a dangerous precedent by letting House committee minorities request information as they please.⁶

Sources: ¹The Hill, ²Associated Press, ³USA Today, ⁴CBS, ⁵POLITICO, and ⁶US News & World Report.

Narratives

• Pro-Trump narrative, as provided by The Western Journal. While the case will be heard in the fall, the 95-year-old law used by House Democrats lacks any real legal precedent and has not led to any previously significant rulings. The decision will be important to clarify how such a law should be used in the future when a compromise between the legislative and the executive branches fails to occur.
• Democratic narrative, as provided by Citizens for Ethics. Since Trump’s hotel turned into the Waldorf, visits — and spending — by prominent Republican political figures have all but dried up. It is certainly clear that whatever Trump’s intentions were, in reality, what the hotel was used for was more than simply a night’s stay and cocktails, but rather influence.

Predictions