The U.S. Supreme Court has temporarily blocked the release of President Trump's tax records sought by congressional Democrats. The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform had subpoenaed Trump's New York accounting firm in April to produce those documents.

Last month, a divided three-judge panel had ruled that the House committee had the authority to subpoena the records from Mazars USA, Trump's longtime accounting firm. Earlier this month, the full U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit rejected an appeal by Trump's lawyers to reconsider the case.

The high court's hold would allow Trump's lawyers to file an appeal arguing against the release of the documents. The court gave the president's legal team until Dec. 5 to file its petition for a full briefing and hearing by the justices.

If the full court declines to hear the case, then the lower court rulings will stand. If the justices choose to consider the case, then it would likely be argued this term and a decision could be issued by the end of June 2020, when the court's term ends.

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