アメリカ民主主義さんの おぼえた日記 - 2020年7月10日(金)

＜BBCニュース7月10日＞
Trump taxes: Supreme Court says New York prosecutors can see records
トランプ大統領　納税記録問題　最高裁はニューヨークの検事が記録閲覧可能と明言


◎要旨
アメリカの最高裁はニューヨークの検事がトランプ大統領の納税記録を調査できるが、この議会は情報共有できないとして、下級裁判所に差し戻した。トランプ大統領はニクソン大統領に次、納税記録を公開していない。
この決定で、大統領選挙前に納税記録が公開されることは期待できなくなり、この件では大統領の勝利になると予想される。
The US Supreme Court has ruled that President Trump's financial records can be examined by prosecutors in New York.

In a related case, the court ruled that this information did not have to be shared with Congress.

Mr Trump is the first president since Richard Nixon in the 1970s not to have made his tax returns public.

His lawyers had argued that he enjoyed total immunity while in office and that Congress had no valid justification to seek the records.

Two Democrat-controlled House of Representatives committees and New York District Attorney Cyrus Vance - also a Democrat - had demanded several years' worth of Mr Trump's taxes in order to determine whether current conflict-of-interest laws on a US president were tough enough.

Mr Trump, a Republican, denies wrongdoing and has called the investigation into his tax affairs a "witch hunt".

"The Supreme Court sends case back to Lower Court, arguments to continue. This is all a political prosecution," he wrote in a series of tweets following the court rulings.

What does the ruling mean?
In the case regarding the request from the New York prosecutors, the Supreme Court ruled by a majority of seven to two that the president did not have absolute immunity from criminal investigation.

"Two hundred years ago, a great jurist of our Court established that no citizen, not even the President, is categorically above the common duty to produce evidence when called upon in a criminal proceeding," the court said.

"We reaffirm that principle today."

But the two cases regarding Congressional committees were closely watched, as they could have had implications on how far US lawmakers could scrutinise the activities of a sitting president.

The court ruled that Congress had significant, but not limitless, power to request the president's personal information. In this case, the court returned the case to the lower courts.

Those wanting to see President Donald Trump's tax returns before the November presidential election shouldn't hold their breath.

In a series of high-stakes rulings on Thursday, the US Supreme Court swatted down the president's defence that, by dint of his high office, he was somehow above the law when it came to state-level criminal subpoenas. That's good news for the president's critics, advocates of limited executive power, and New York prosecutors seeking to investigate Trump's personal finances.

The opinion is not-so-good news for anyone wanting a quick resolution to this case, however. Chief Justice John Roberts sent the lawsuit back down to the lower courts and offered a few new legal avenues for Mr Trump's lawyers to pursue that could continue to put off a day when the president's accounting firm ultimately hands over the documents. And if that day comes, there's still no guarantee that the request, by a secret grand jury, will ever lead to a public disclosure.

In the other case, involving a request by congressional Democrats for Mr Trump's financial records, the court was even more circumspect. It simply punted the case down to the lower court with instructions to further balance presidential privileges with legislative power. The gears of justice will grind even more slowly there.

While legally these decisions may have been, at best, a draw for the president, by pushing the final day of reckoning further down the road, it's a political win.

★語句
rule　裁決する　決定する
enjoy　特権を享受する
immunity　（義務・税・罰などの免除）
hold one’s breath （通常否定文で）期待する
swat　強い一撃を加える
by dint of　　・・の力で
circumspect　慎重な
grind　ぎしぎし音を立ててゆっくり進む
draw　優位
reckon　推測する
further down the road　将来

◎私見
このニュースのタイトルを見ると、トランプ大統領に打撃のように見えるが、実は、判決は差戻で最終決定までは更に時間がかかるので、大統領選挙前に納税記録を出せと言われる可能性が小さくなり、トランプ氏には有利な判決だと解説していた。ニュースをどう評価するかは難しい。