Federal Appeals Court Rules Trump Must Hand Tax Returns to Manhattan DA
Trump’s attorney says they’ll appeal to the Supreme Court
Monday, a federal appeals court ruled President Trump must hand over his tax returns to Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance, “who had subpoenaed the documents from Trump’s accounting firm as part of an investigation into the pre-election payoffs to two women who alleged affairs with Trump.”
Trump’s attorney, Jay Sekulow said they would appeal to the Supreme Court, “the decision of the Second Circuit will be taken to the Supreme Court. The issue raised in this case goes to the heart of our Republic. The constitutional issues are significant.”
More from NBC:
The three-judge panel wrote in their decision that “any presidential immunity from state criminal process does not extend to investigative steps like the grand jury subpoena at issue here,” affirming the lower court’s ruling on that question.
Vance is seeking to obtain eight years of Trump’s tax documents through his account firm, Mazars USA, to evaluate the Trump Organization’s role in the payouts to porn star Stormy Daniels and ex-Playboy model Karen McDougal, as well as the reimbursements made to Trump’s former longtime attorney Michael Cohen, who is now serving a three-year federal prison sentence for a litany of crimes, including campaign finance violations.
Because the tax documents were requested under a grand jury subpoena, it’s unlikely they will become public if turned over. Trump is engaged in a series of legal battles across the country to keep his tax returns private.
…”This appeal does not require us to consider whether the president is immune from indictment and prosecution while in office, nor to consider whether the President may lawfully be ordered to produce documents for use in a state criminal proceeding,” the judges wrote in Monday’s ruling. “We accordingly do not address those issues. The only question before us is whether a state may lawfully demand production by a third party of the President’s personal financial records for use in a grand jury investigation while the President is in office.”
“With the benefit of the district court’s well‐articulated opinion, we hold that any presidential immunity from state criminal process does not bar the enforcement of such a subpoena,” they continued.
Ruling here:
Trump v Vance Cyrus Jr Et Al Appeal Ruling by Anonymous jDcsAZN on Scribd
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Comments
Tax returns are protected documents which the IRS can’t just hand out, even on a subpoena. The law is pretty clear. A return might be released with no identifiable info, but if tied clearly to a person, must be in executive session and is not for public consumption and then, only to certain bodies.
You do not understand –
the suit is not for the IRS to give the documents
IT IS TO REQUIRE TRUMP’S accounting firm to give the documents.
An end around the law, brought to you by a DA who is fishing for anything to nail Trump on. This shouldn’t be legal, but hey, since when does the left follow the law?
““who had subpoenaed the documents from Trump’s accounting firm as part of an investigation into the pre-election payoffs to two women who alleged affairs with Trump.”
With his own money.
Let’s see the ledger for the congressional Intern hush fund, paid for by the US taxpayers.
Why isn’t the District Attorney also asking for Clinton Tax Returns. She washed money through law firm Perkins-Coie to help pay for the Trump Dossier. Seems highly selective?
Which laws were broken with the NDA agreements??
That’s what they’re looking for.
It isn’t for any NDA payment, not really, it is to fish for anything to go after Trump for and so they can leak the returns to the propaganda team.
The DA is a vapid anti-Trump leftist.
“That’s what they’re looking for.”
No, they are not. They are looking for political dirt.
If they need the documents to identify those laws then doesn’t this just become a dodgy little fishing expedition?
Indeed
“Because the tax documents were requested under a grand jury subpoena, it’s unlikely they will become public if turned over….”
Oh, I had such a good laugh over that.
“it’s unlikely they will become public if turned over”
yeah, I find that very unlikely also.
I’m mildly familiar with tax forms. I’ve never seen a line on any form that said enter payoffs to whores here (thankfully)
On the payer’s side it goes under professional fees on Schedule A. On the recipient’s side it goes under Other Income.
Alternately, the recipient could find considerable tax advantage by filing as an LLC or Sole Prop and establishing a Keogh plan.
Those would be reported on the forms only if he took them as a tax deduction…assuming he even made the payments. I’m half-convinced that Micheal Cohen had the affair with Daniels, and used his access to ‘fixer funds’ to pay her off.
We can jump through hoops all day on this about the law etc but call it what it is, a fishing expedition! The Dems have no crime as of yet to impeach Trump on so they are fishing. This is one of the most disturbing things I have ever seen in national politics. Where state and federal courts allow this type of search for something to charge POTUS with. The SCOTUS needs to step in and stop this now.
I admit I am not overly familiar with this affair, but I do not see a theory of illegality here, and therefore any cause for a grand jury to be empowered to request any documents whatsoever.
Things that make you go hmmmm…
Chief Justice Robert Katzmann Appointed by Clinton
Circuit Judge Denny Chin Appointed by Obama
Senior Circuit Judge Christopher F. Droney Appointed by Obama
Now there are Republican appointed judges available..but funny how these three ended deciding…..
ended up deciding…
Why not subpoena the taxes of Cohen, Daniels and McDougal instead? The issue is who receives money when it comes to tax crimes. If the money is not declared on their returns, they committed the crime — not Trump. Besides, if Trump didn’t 1099 those payouts the government benefits.
And since when does the State of New York have the enforcement power over federal law? Kinda like a state *cough cough Arizona* trying to enforce immigration law.
All right, clue me in here. Why would payments from Trump, to anyone for any reason, show up in his returns? Unless they’re claimed as some sort of business expense, they won’t show up at all. Income tax deals with income, not expenditures.
Under what theory would they need eight years, most of which cannot have any bearing whatsoever on their purported question?
what jurisdiction does the Vance claim. the IRS has his tax returns for the period in question, does anyone really think if he did something wrong in that period of time they would not have caught him.
Or as I like to say, “If you think Trump owes the IRS a dime in back taxes, you’ve never dealt with the IRS.”