The Supreme Court on Tuesday temporarily halted a House panel from accessing the tax records of former President Trump ahead of their expected release.

The move, which comes in response to an emergency request Trump filed on Monday, was ordered by Chief Justice John Roberts, who handles emergency matters arising in the District of Columbia. Roberts requested a response by Nov. 10.

The latest development comes after a lower court cleared the way for the House Ways and Means Committee to obtain the records of Trump and his businesses from the Treasury Department as part of a long-running legal battle.

During Trumps presidency, the department resisted the committees request, but later agreed to comply after the Biden administration entered office. 

Federal law mandates that tax returns are generally confidential unless an exception applies, one of which includes a written request by the House Ways and Means Committee. The issue in Trumps litigation in large part turns on whether this exception is constitutional.

The latest phase of litigation arose last year when Trump asked a federal judge in D.C. to block the IRS from handing over his records, citing his privacy concerns and challenging the constitutionality of the House committees request.

U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden, a Trump appointee, dismissed Trumps suit late last year. His ruling was later affirmed by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, which last week rejected Trumps request to rehear the case, prompting his turn to the Supreme Court.

In court papers filed to Roberts on Monday, Trumps lawyers reiterated his claim that the House panels pursuit of the records is legally invalid. Clinton wants Trump to pay her legal fees after tossed conspiracy lawsuit Fulton County DA urges Supreme Court to let Graham face questioning in Georgia election probe

The Committees purpose in requesting President Trumps tax returns has nothing to do with funding or staffing issues at the IRS and everything to do with releasing the Presidents tax information to the public, they wrote.

The committee maintains that it requires the records six years of Trumps tax returns and eight years of his business records to inform its review of the IRSs presidential audit process.

Updated at 10:43 a.m.