Trump's accounting firm must hand over 8 years of tax returns, court rules

[WestVirginiaRebel]

Reuters

NEW YORK (Reuters) - President Donald Trump’s longtime accounting firm must hand over eight years of his tax returns to New York prosecutors, a U.S. appeals court ruled Monday, the latest setback for Trump in his tenacious efforts to keep his finances secret.

The ruling by a unanimous three-judge panel of the New York-based 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals backed the ability of prosecutors to enforce a subpoena for the returns against accounting firm Mazars LLP. Jay Sekulow, a lawyer for Trump, said the Republican president will appeal the ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court, whose 5-4 conservative majority includes two justices appointed by Trump.

The office of Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance, a Democrat, is seeking the returns as part of a criminal investigation into Trump and his family real estate business. The scope of that probe is not publicly known.

 

The 2nd Circuit did not decide whether Trump is immune from being charged with a state crime while in office, as the president has argued. However, it found that even if he is, the immunity could not stop Vance from getting the returns from a third party, or from prosecuting him once he leaves office.

It would “exact a heavy toll on our criminal justice system to prohibit a state from even investigating potential crimes committed by him for potential later prosecution,” 2nd Circuit Chief Judge Robert Katzmann wrote in the ruling.

Vance’s office has agreed not to enforce the subpoena while Trump petitions the Supreme Court. Under the agreement, Trump has 10 calendar days to file the petition.

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Court orders.

[Geee]

President Trump’s Legal Team To Take N.Y. Tax Returns Case To SCOTUS

New York prosecutors have continued to push President Trump to turn over his tax returns. However, the president and his lawyers have fought back. They say there is no requirement for him to release his financial records. The president’s legal team is now taking the battle to the Supreme Court after a federal court in New York rejected their appeal to keep his tax returns private.

Democrat Manhattan district attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. is requesting the president turn over eight years worth of his corporate and personal tax returns. The request is part of a criminal investigation into alleged hush money payments made to two women, who claim they had an affair with the president before he was elected.

 

 

[Geee]

Supreme Court temporarily blocks House subpoena of Trump financial records

The Supreme Court has issued a temporary stay of an appeals court ruling that granted House Democrats access to President Trump's financial records, Chief Justice John Roberts announced Monday.

Trump's lawyers had appealed the ruling, which was set to go into effect Wednesday.

The subpoena from the House Oversight and Reform Committee will be unenforceable while the Supreme Court decides whether to take up the case. The panel is seeking eight years of Trump's financial records from his accounting firm.