A federal appeals court on Monday ruled President Trump must hand over eight years of tax returns, personal and corporate, to a state grand jury as part of an ongoing criminal probe.
Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance Jr. subpoenaed Trump’s accounting firm Mazars USA for eight years of personal and corporate tax returns. The firm acknowledged it would “respect the legal process and fully comply with its legal obligations.”
In September, Trump’s lawyers filed a lawsuit to combat Vance’s attempts, citing “significant constitutional issues,” as Breitbart News reported:
Vance’s office issued the subpoena to the Trump Organization as part of an investigation into the $130,000 “hush-money” payment former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen made to porn star Stormy Daniels, who professed to have had an affair with the president — a claim that Trump has repeatedly denied.
“In response to the subpoenas issued by the New York County District Attorney, we have filed a lawsuit this morning in Federal Court on behalf of the President in order to address the significant constitutional issues at stake in this case,” Trump lawyer Jay Sekulow said in a statement in September.
However, a three-judge panel in New York on Monday, “rejected Trump’s argument that he is immune as president from criminal investigation while in the White House” and ruled the firm must hand over eight years of tax returns to a state grand jury, CNBC reports:
The three-judge appeals panel in New York rejected Trump’s argument that he is immune as president from criminal investigation while in the White House.
…
The panel of judges on the U.S. Second Circuit of Appeals predicted that Trump’s lawyers are all but certain to appeal the ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court. If Trump stands down from the legal fight, Mazars will have to hand over the documents sought by the New York DA.
Sekulow responded to the ruling, stating Trump’s team will be taking the case to the Supreme Court:
BREAKING: Jay Sekulow statement on 2nd Circuit opinion against POTUS allowing for a NY state criminal subpoena to the Trump Org: "We will be taking this case to the Supreme Court."
— Darren Samuelsohn (@dsamuelsohn) November 4, 2019
Trump legal team reacts to tax ruling: “The decision of the Second Circuit will be taken to the Supreme Court. The issue raised in this case go to the heart of our Republic. The constitutional issues are significant.” – Jay Sekulow, Counsel to the President
— Eamon Javers (@EamonJavers) November 4, 2019
This is a developing story.
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