- U.S. President Donald Trump has had his latest effort to block the Manhattan DA from obtaining his tax returns knocked back by a Federal Judge
- Judge Victor Marrero of Federal District Court in Manhattan ruled Trump’s personal and corporate tax returns should be handed over to a New York grand jury
- The Manhattan DA is seeking the tax records as part of a wider investigation in to Trump’s business operation and alleged cover-up payments
- The President has been fighting the DA’s subpoena for over a year, with the case already going to the Supreme Court once before
- It’s likely to end up there again, with Trump’s lawyers filing papers stating they would appeal this latest setback
U.S. President Donald Trump’s latest effort to avoid handing over his tax records to the Manhattan DA has failed, with a Federal Judge knocking back his lawyer’s arguments.
The President’s lawyers have already announced an appeal, meaning the case will head back to the Supreme Court again and an ultimate decision on the inquiry into alleged 2016 cover-up payments won’t be reached before the November election.
The DA case
Trump’s lawyers have been working for over a year to block the Manhattan District Attorney from obtaining his company and personal tax returns from 2011 onwards.
The District Attorney’s, Cyrus R. Vance Jr., subpoena is part of a wider investigation into Trump’s conduct in the lead-up to the 2016 election, including claims Trump paid off an adult film star, Stormey Daniel, to keep her quiet about a supposed affair.
The U.S. President has long maintained the investigation is politically motivated, as Vance Jr. is a democrat, and has labelled it a “witch hunt.”
Trump’s legal team took their appeal of the supbonea, requesting his tax records, to the Supreme Court earlier this year, but their argument was knocked back.
Latest appeal
In this latest appeal, they argued the grand jury subpoena by the Manhattan DA was “wildly overbroad” and issued in bad faith.
But, Judge Victor Marrero of Federal District Court in Manhattan dismissed the objections, stating he could not allow “absolute immunity through a back door.”
The U.S. President’s legal team have already filed papers announcing their intention to appeal the decision, meaning the case is likely headed back to the Supreme Court.
Importantly, if Trump did hand over his records to the Manhattan DA, it’s unlikely they would be made public due to strict secrecy laws.
Meantime, today’s ruling – and wider case – is not to be confused with another case by Democratic lawmakers to have Trump’s tax records made public.
The U.S. President did state he’d release his records in the lead-up to the 2016 election, as is tradition, but has since declined to do so and fought any attempt to make them public.
The U.S. will head to the polls on November 3, to decide between Donald Trump and Joe Biden as President.