DC Circuit judge and H.W. Bush appointee Karen L. Henderson has just dismissed a FOIA lawsuit by Electronic Privacy Information Center to get Trump’s income tax records.
Here’s the essential part of the ruling:
This case presents the question whether a member of the public—here, a nonprofit organization—can use a FOIA request to obtain an unrelated individual’s tax records without his consent. With certain limited exceptions—all inapplicable here—the answer is no. No one can demand to inspect another’s tax records. And the IRC’s confidentiality protections extend to the ordinary taxpayer and the President alike. Accordingly, we affirm the dismissal of the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC)’s lawsuit seeking President Donald J. Trump’s income tax records.
EPIC was suing the IRS to get Trump’s tax records based on the Freedom of Information Act. They had requested them not long after the 2016 election and the IRS denied them. They appealed that decision with the IRS and were denied again. After the second denial, EPIC sued to get the records.
Below is the full ruling by the court if you’d like to read it:
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