Court rules Congress can obtain Trump's tax returns one day after Mar-a-Lago raid

One day after FBI agents raided Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate, the D.C. Court of Appeals ruled on Tuesday that the Internal Revenue Service must hand over the former president's tax returns to the House Ways and Means Committee.

Trump has been fighting for more than three years to halt the release of his tax returns to the Democrat-controlled committee.

"We expect to receive the requested tax returns and audit files immediately," the House panel said on Twitter.

Rep. Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D-N.J.), who is chairman of the Ways & Means Oversight Subcommittee, celebrated the court's decision. 

"Congressional oversight of tax returns has been clear and unchallenged for a century until Donald Trump and his minions stymied, delayed, and obstructed our oversight with every nefarious tool imaginable," he said in a press release. "This has never been about one man. It is about the rule of law."

Senior Circuit Judge David B. Sentelle wrote the majority court opinion. He said that the "Treasury's decision to comply with the Request did not violate the Trump Parties' First Amendment rights."

Additionally, the request to provide tax returns "did not violate separation of powers principles under any of the potentially applicable tests primarily because the burden on the Executive Branch and the Trump Parties is relatively minor," he wrote.