Supreme Court splits the baby, then splits the scene

Well, the public probably isn't going to see Orange Caligula's tax returns between now and November. The Supreme Court ruled today that he has to give them up to a state grand jury in New York, but that lower courts have to perform more legal cogitation before they could require him to turn them over to Congress.

Pardon me, I yawned.

It's a nice outcome for the Court. The justices reaffirm that the President is not a dictator, as much as he and the idiots around him think he is. But they don't take responsibility for getting his finances, or his tax-return version of those finances (which ought to be hilarious), onto Rachel Maddow's desk over the summer. Maybe some day the Court will require the returns to be turned over to Congress, but not now. And by the time we get to then, nobody may care.

If you wanted a different result, don't blame Moscow Mitch: There were two cases, and the vote was basically 7 to 2 in each of them.

The hunt for the Cheeto tax returns reminds me a lot of the Mueller investigation, which, let's face it, was a major dud. People think that some bombshell is going to come out, and it will be fatal to Trump. I'm skeptical. First, there may be no bombshells in the tax returns, and even if there are, 40 to 45 percent of the population of this country would still prefer a goon like Trump over a Democrat, any Democrat.

What's more interesting to me is that the Supreme Court was still in session on July 9. In the old days, by this time of year Bill Douglas would be roaming around Northwest Portland looking for some action. Chief Justice Roberts, who wrote both opinions in the tax return cases, fell and injured his head a few weeks ago. He spent a night in the hospital over it. That may have had something to do with the late close of the Court's term. But it did finally end today.

Another thing to watch for from the Court at this time of year is retirement announcements. So far I haven't seen any. Which is a good thing. We've had more than enough drama lately.