U.S. President Donald Trump is now legally unable to prevent a prosecutor’s subpoena asking for eight years of tax returns, a federal judge announced Thursday.
In what is the latest setback in Mr. Trump’s attempts to keep his personal and business finances secret, Judge Victor Marrero, a Manhattan based judge in the U.S. District court system denied the president’s claims that the iniital subpoena was “wildly overbroad” in its make-up.
Reading out a 103-page decision, the judge called Mr. Trump being allowed to prevent the subpoena from coming into play an “undue expansion” of the immunity he can claim as president.
As was anticipated, the president’s legal team immediately made an appeal on the decision, at the same time filing a counter-motion along the lines of his being forced to show his tax returns would cause personal harm if he were to disclose his”private, confidential information.”
The claim and other legal aspects of the case dating back to the August 2019, subpoena effectively seal the records until at least early November when the presidential election is scheduled.
The initial subpoena, filed by Cyrus Vance, a New York District Attorney and registered supporter of the Democratic Party was filed, he said, to look at what could be seen as “possibly extensive and protracted criminal conduct at the Trump Organization.”
Judge Marrero said in his decision that “the President is entitled to claim no greater shield from judicial process than any other person,” and that “justice requires an end to this controversy.”
