Trump required to produce tax returns, judge says
A federal judge has ordered that President Donald Trump must turn over his tax returns.
President Donald Trump‘s attempt to keep his tax returns private has been blocked by a federal judge who ruled the documents must be turned over.
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The New York Times reports Judge Victor Marrero of Federal District Court in Manhattan rejected Trump’s attempt to block the district attorney from obtaining his tax returns and financial records dating back eight years in a ruling Thursday. POTUS argued the inquiry was “wildly overbroad.”
Although this hinders Trump’s attempt to block courts from viewing his tax returns, the information will more than likely not be available to the public unless charges are filed and the records are included as evidence.
According to the Times, District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance Jr. sent a subpoena for the tax returns to the president’s accounting firm, Mazars USA, in August 2019. It was part of an investigation into Trump’s business practices, hush-money payments, and possible fraud. The news outlet reports a separate subpoena was also sent to Deutsche Bank.
Trump and his legal team claim the subpoena requested information beyond the scope of the Manhattan district attorney’s job. The judge disagreed, saying dismissing the subpoena in turn provides a safety net for the president to avoid a criminal investigation.
“At its core, it amounts to absolute immunity through a back door,” the judge wrote according to the Times.
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Trump’s lawyers argue the Mazars subpoena “amounts to an unguided and unlawful fishing expedition into the president’s personal financial and business dealings.”
The issue has already reached the Supreme Court and if the president decides to appeal the decision, it could return. In July, the Supreme Court ruled, by a vote of 7 to 2, against Trump’s notion that as the commander in chief he could not be the subject of a criminal investigation.
“No citizen, not even the president, is categorically above the common duty to produce evidence when called upon in a criminal proceeding,” Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. wrote for the majority.
This ruling left the door open for POTUS to redirect his objections to Judge Marrero’s courtroom in Manhattan. The Times reports the president is likely to appeal this decision, circling the case right back to the SCOTUS for another decision.
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