The recent Supreme Court ruling permitting New York state prosecutors to get President Donald Trump’s financial records, the release of which has been a subject of controversy since his 2016 run for president. The Onion looks at the timeline of politicians and legislators trying to get Trump’s financial records.
April 2011
President Barack Obama releases his birth certificate, setting an important precedent for Trump just getting whatever he wants.
January 2016
Trump pledges to release tax returns once he remembers TurboTax password.
November 2016
Establishment liberals successfully elect Trump president of the United States in bold gamble for access to his tax returns.
January 2017
House Ways and Means Committee issues polite request to see if Trump wouldn’t mind releasing his returns when he has a moment.
December 2017
“Can you imagine what the reaction would’ve been like if Obama had refused to release his tax returns?” uttered for 1,000,000,000th time.
March 2019
Attorney General William Barr says he won’t release tax returns since they “have been too built up at this point” and “would be totally anticlimactic.”
May 2019
Administration officials adopt bold new strategy of ignoring subpoenas on grounds that no one will do shit about it.
July 2019
California governor Gavin Newsom signs bill forcing Trump to release taxes in order to appear on 2020 presidential primary ballot, which is blocked by a federal judge who admits it was a pretty good try.
July 2020
Supreme Court rules public has right to view Trump’s tax returns, but only after they decide whether to grant him four more years of unfettered executive power.
March 2021
Trump’s financial records reveal that he did indeed have finances this whole time.