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The US Supreme Court has paved the way for the handover of former president Donald Trump’s tax returns to Congress after a three-year legal battle.

The court rejected Mr Trump’s emergency application for an order that would have prevented the Treasury Department from giving six years of tax returns for him and some of his businesses to the House Ways and Means Committee.

Mr Trump was the first president in four decades not to release his tax returns.

The Democratic-controlled committee had first requested Mr Trump’s tax returns in 2019 as part of an investigation into the Internal Revenue Service’s audit programme and tax law compliance by the former president.

The Treasury Department had refused to provide the records during Mr Trump’s presidency, but President Joe Biden’s administration said federal law is clear that the committee has the right to examine any taxpayer’s return, including the president’s.

Lower courts agreed and rejected Mr Trump’s claims it was overstepping and that the committee only wanted the documents to make them public.

Chief Justice John Roberts imposed a temporary freeze on 1 November to allow the court to weigh in on the legal issues raised by Mr Trump’s lawyer and the counterarguments of the administration and House of Representatives.

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But just over three weeks later, the justices denied Mr Trump’s emergency application, with no justice publicly dissenting.

If Mr Trump had persuaded the Supreme Court to intervene, he could have run out the clock on the committee until the Republicans take control of the House in January, when they almost certainly would have dropped the records request had it not been resolved by then.

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Third loss this year

It is the third time Mr Trump has lost at the Supreme Court this year.

In October, it refused to step into the legal fight surrounding the FBI search of his Florida estate, where classified documents were discovered. In January, it refused to stop the National Archives from turning over documents to the House committee investigating the 6 January insurrection at the US Capitol.

Last week, Mr Trump officially launched a third bid for the US presidency, saying: “America’s comeback starts right now.”

Making the announcement from his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, he said “everybody was doing great” after his four years in office, “the world was at peace” and he “kept his promises”.

“Two years ago we were a great nation. And soon we will be a great nation again,” the former US president added.

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US Supreme Court curbs injunctions that blocked Donald Trump’s birthright citizenship plan

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US Supreme Court curbs injunctions that blocked Donald Trump's birthright citizenship plan

Donald Trump’s administration will be allowed to take steps to implement its proposal to end automatic birthright citizenship in the US following a decision by the Supreme Court.

Under the current rules, nearly anyone born on US territory has automatic citizenship rights – commonly known as “birthright citizenship”.

But in January, on his first day back in the White House, Trump signed an executive order aimed at ending that right.

A series of lawsuits followed, with district courts issuing nationwide injunctions aiming to block the order from taking effect.

The Supreme Court on Friday voted 6-3 to allow the Trump administration to narrow the scope of nationwide injunctions imposed by judges so that they apply only to states, groups and individuals that sued.

This means the birthright citizenship proposal can likely move forward at least in part in the states that challenged it, as well as those that did not.

Protests in support of birthright citizenship in Washington DC in May. Pic: AP
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Campaigners argue that restricting automatic birthright citizenship is an erosion of people’s constitutional rights. Pic: AP

People demonstrating outside the Supreme Court in May against plans to restrict automatic birthright citizenship. Pic: Reuters
Image:
People demonstrated outside the Supreme Court in May. Pic: Reuters

The US president responded with a post on Truth Social by welcoming the ruling as a “giant win”.

At a news conference at the White House, he said: “In recent months, we’ve seen a handful of radical left judges effectively try to overrule the rightful powers of the president… to dictate the law for the entire nation… this was a colossal abuse of power.”

He went on to suggest the current birthright was being abused and had originally been designed for a different era, to give the descendants of slaves the right to citizenship.

“It wasn’t meant for people trying to scam the system and come into the country on a vacation. It was meant for the babies of slaves. Hundreds of thousands of people are pouring into our country under birthright citizenship,” he said.

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In a wide-ranging news conference, he also said he would consider bombing Iran again if they continued their nuclear programme and expects the country to open itself to international inspections.

He also said he was preparing fresh trade tariffs for several countries and had secured mineral rights in the Democratic Republic of Congo, which is signing a peace deal with Rwanda at the White House to end years of fighting.

Friday’s Supreme Court decision was focused on cases filed in Maryland, Massachusetts and Washington state.

The policy remains blocked for now in one additional state, New Hampshire, as a result of a separate lawsuit that is not before the Supreme Court.

Mr Trump’s plan has the backing of 21 other states.

People demonstrate in front of the Supreme Court in Washington regarding birthright citizenship
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Pic: picture-alliance/dpa/AP

Friday’s ruling was decided on a 6-3 vote following a divide on ideological lines, with conservatives in the majority and liberals in dissent.

Mr Trump previously helped shape the makeup of the court with the appointment of three judges, ensuring a 6-3 conservative majority, though past rulings have still not always gone in his favour.

It has long been widely accepted, including by legal scholars on the left and right in the US, that the Constitution’s 14th Amendment confers automatic citizenship to almost anyone born in the United States.

Mr Trump wants that restricted to only those with at least one parent who is a US citizen or permanent resident.

Friday’s ruling does not examine the legal merits of the policy, but only whether judges had the authority to put it on hold across the entire country.

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As a result of the ruling, the proposal can potentially move forward nationwide, although individuals could still file their own lawsuits at the state level.

Those currently challenging the policy could also still reinstate injunctions which are less broad in scope.

The US president and his allies have been harshly critical of judges who have blocked aspects of his agenda, although it is not a new phenomenon for courts to impose nationwide injunctions.

His administration has battled against judges who have issued nationwide injunctions in response to a bold and aggressive use of executive power to implement a controversial agenda, including ramping up deportations, downsizing federal agencies, targeting law firms and universities and firing thousands of federal employees.

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Man kicks customs dog at Washington Dulles International Airport, say authorities

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Man kicks customs dog at Washington Dulles International Airport, say authorities

An Egyptian man has admitted federal charges after kicking a customs dog at a US airport, authorities say.

Hamad Ramadan Bayoumy Aly Marie, 70, pleaded guilty to “harming animals used in law enforcement” during an appearance in the US District Court of eastern Virginia on Wednesday.

Five-year-old male beagle Freddie allegedly detected more than 100lbs (45kg) of undeclared agricultural products in Marie’s luggage after he arrived at Washington Dulles International Airport from Cairo, Egypt, on Tuesday.

When Freddie’s handler started questioning the passenger, he kicked the 25lb (11kg) animal so hard that it was lifted off the ground, according to US Customs and Border Protection.

Pic:US Customs and Border Contro
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CCTV captured the moment Freddie was kicked. Pic: US Homeland Security

A veterinarian determined that Freddie suffered contusions to his right rib area as a result of being kicked.

Marie was placed in handcuffs by US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers, who found 55lbs (24.9kg) of beef meat, 44lbs (20kg) of rice, 15lbs (6.8kg) of eggplant, cucumbers and bellpeppers, 2lbs (0.9kg) of corn seeds, and 1lb (0.5kg) of herbs in his luggage, according to authorities.

All agricultural products were seized as they are prohibited, to prevent the introduction of harmful plant pests and foreign animal diseases from entering the country.

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“Being caught deliberately smuggling well over 100lbs of undeclared and prohibited agricultural products does not give one permission to violently assault a defenceless Customs and Border Protection beagle,” said Christine Waugh, the CBP’s director for the area port of Washington DC.

“We rely heavily on our K9 partners and Freddie was just doing his job.

“Any malicious attack on one of us is an attack on all of us, and CBP will continue to work with our investigating and prosecuting partners to deal swift and severe justice to perpetrators.”

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Marie was credited with time served after being taken into custody on Tuesday and was ordered to pay the veterinarian’s fee of $840 (£612) for Freddie’s treatment, a court filing shows.

He was also told to immediately report to CBP for removal from the US, and he left the country on a flight to Egypt at 12.30pm local time on Thursday.

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Man kicks customs dog at Washington Dulles International Airport, say authorities

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Man kicks customs dog at Washington Dulles International Airport, say authorities

An Egyptian man has admitted federal charges after kicking a customs dog at a US airport, authorities say.

Hamad Ramadan Bayoumy Aly Marie, 70, pleaded guilty to “harming animals used in law enforcement” during an appearance in the US District Court of eastern Virginia on Wednesday.

Five-year-old male beagle Freddie allegedly detected more than 100lbs (45kg) of undeclared agricultural products in Marie’s luggage after he arrived at Washington Dulles International Airport from Cairo, Egypt, on Tuesday.

When Freddie’s handler started questioning the passenger, he kicked the 25lb (11kg) animal so hard that it was lifted off the ground, according to US Customs and Border Protection.

Pic:US Customs and Border Contro
Image:
CCTV captured the moment Freddie was kicked. Pic: US Homeland Security

A veterinarian determined that Freddie suffered contusions to his right rib area as a result of being kicked.

Marie was placed in handcuffs by US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers, who found 55lbs (24.9kg) of beef meat, 44lbs (20kg) of rice, 15lbs (6.8kg) of eggplant, cucumbers and bellpeppers, 2lbs (0.9kg) of corn seeds, and 1lb (0.5kg) of herbs in his luggage, according to authorities.

All agricultural products were seized as they are prohibited, to prevent the introduction of harmful plant pests and foreign animal diseases from entering the country.

More on Washington

“Being caught deliberately smuggling well over 100lbs of undeclared and prohibited agricultural products does not give one permission to violently assault a defenceless Customs and Border Protection beagle,” said Christine Waugh, the CBP’s director for the area port of Washington DC.

“We rely heavily on our K9 partners and Freddie was just doing his job.

“Any malicious attack on one of us is an attack on all of us, and CBP will continue to work with our investigating and prosecuting partners to deal swift and severe justice to perpetrators.”

Read more from Sky News:
British man charged with leading hacking scheme
Brad Pitt’s Los Angeles home broken into

Marie was credited with time served after being taken into custody on Tuesday and was ordered to pay the veterinarian’s fee of $840 (£612) for Freddie’s treatment, a court filing shows.

He was also told to immediately report to CBP for removal from the US, and he left the country on a flight to Egypt at 12.30pm local time on Thursday.

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