It was a shrewd but fair decision by the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court basically ruled that the President is not above the law and has no immunity from subpoena, but at the same time he has the right like everyone else to fight the subpoena in the lower court and the lower court has to decide it. In the case of congress, the court ruled that congress has the right to subpoena the tax records, but it has to justify it by meeting certain standards. This gave President Trump enough time to fight it out in lower courts without releasing taxes before elections. The Supreme Court was able to extricate itself from politically hot situation.
In the long term, it may not be so good for the President. If he loses elections, and he has some illegal activities in tax returns, he may be in hot waters legally in 2021 and beyond when he has no Presidential immunity protection.
Vice President Joe Biden is in a stronger position and may put a pressure on Donald trump by refusing to debate him unless he releases his tax returns. President Trump may still may not release the tax returns, but it may further highlight the issue in voter’s mind.
We all think that in 2016, it has already played out and did not make a difference. But there is one crucial difference-in 2016 many independent minded voters gave him benefit of doubt and had a hope that as being a businessman and developer, he may bring progress, especially in building infrastructure. This time these independent minded voters (not blind die-hard followers) will not give him benefit of doubt as they have already seen his performance, especially his incompetent management and inability to mentally grasp complex issues facing the nation.
F.Sheikh