A federal judge has rejected President Trump’s challenge to New York State prosecutors seeking eight years of his tax returns, ordering Trump and his accountants to release the information to a grand jury, the Associated Press reported.
The judge’s ruling also contained a sharp rebuke of the president’s claim of immunity regarding all criminal investigations.
RELATED STORIES
Trump’s attorneys immediately appealed the judge’s decision.
New York District Attorney Cyrus Vance issued a subpoena seeking Trump’s personal and business tax records as part of an investigation into hush-money payments to two women who claimed to have had affairs with Trump: Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal.
President Trump has been trying to keep that information under wraps, challenging both the grand jury subpoena and a Congressional subpoena, despite promising to release his tax returns in the 2016 general election.
Trump’s attorneys argued that the investigation is politically motivated and that sitting presidents are immune from any criminal investigations.
However, U.S. District Judge Victor Marrero denied Trump’s arguments and specifically called out the president’s claim of immunity as “extraordinary” and “an overreach of executive power,” adding that such immunity would be “repugnant to the nation’s governmental structure and constitutional value.”
Judge Marrero’s ruling left little doubt about where he stands on the issue of sitting presidents being indicted.
“[T]he President’s claim of absolute immunity conceivably could enable the guilty to go free, and deprive the innocent of an opportunity to resolve serious accusations in a court of law,” Judge Marrero wrote, according to BuzzFeed News .
President Trump’s tax information may yet never be revealed to the public, despite the ruling, however.
The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals granted a stay of Judge Marrero’s ruling pending the appeal. Vance’s office is trying to expedite the appeal hearing, while Trump’s lawyers are seeking a later date.
Even if the appeals court rules against Trump, however, the tax returns will go to a grand jury.
Grand jury proceedings and records are secret in New York, meaning any revelations need not be made public after the investigation is complete.
h/t: Associated Press , BuzzFeed News
