Trump taxes: President ordered to turn over returns to Manhattan DA

A federal judge rejected a bold argument from Trump that sitting presidents are immune from criminal investigations. Photo / T.J Kirkpatrick, The New York Times

A federal judge on Monday rejected a bold argument from President Donald Trump that sitting presidents are immune from criminal investigations, allowing the Manhattan District Attorney's Office to move forward with a subpoena seeking eight years of the president's personal and corporate tax returns.

The ruling issued by Judge Victor Marrero of Manhattan federal court does not mean that the president's tax returns will be turned over immediately. Trump's lawyers quickly appealed the decision and the appeals court agreed to temporarily block the order.

The judge's decision came a little more than a month after the Manhattan district attorney subpoenaed Trump's accounting firm, Mazars USA, for his personal and corporate returns dating to 2011. The demand touched off a legal showdown that raised new constitutional questions and drew in the Justice Department, which supported the president's request to delay enforcement of the subpoena.

District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance Jr.'s office has been investigating whether any New York state laws were broken when Trump and his company reimbursed the president's former lawyer and fixer, Michael Cohen, for payments he made in the run-up to the 2016 election to pornographic film actress Stormy Daniels, who had said she had an affair with Trump.

Trump has denied having an affair with Daniels.

Trump's lawyers sued last month to block the subpoena, arguing that the Constitution effectively makes sitting presidents immune from all criminal inquiries until they leave the White House. The lawyers acknowledged that their argument had not been tested in courts, but said the release of the president's tax returns would cause him "irreparable harm."

In his 75-page ruling, Marrero called the president's argument "repugnant to the nation's governmental structure and constitutional values." Presidents, their families and businesses are not above the law, the judge wrote.

A lawyer for the president and a spokesman for Vance each declined to comment.

On Monday, a lawyer for Trump asked the appeals court to block the subpoena until it hears the whole case, plus an additional week to give the losing side time to ask the US Supreme Court to hear the arguments.

"This case presents momentous questions of first impression regarding the presidency, federalism and the separation of powers," the lawyer, Patrick Strawbridge, wrote.

Vance's office had asked Marrero to dismiss Trump's suit, saying a grand jury had a right to "pursue its investigation free from interference and litigious delay" and rejecting his claim to blanket immunity. The judge was appointed by President Bill Clinton.

Trump's lawyers have called the investigation by Vance, a Democrat, politically motivated. Vance has accused the president and his team of trying to run out the clock on the investigation.

Last week, lawyers with Trump's Justice Department jumped into the fray, asking the judge to temporarily block the subpoena while the court takes time to consider the "significant constitutional issues" in the case.

The Justice Department, led by Attorney General William Barr, did not say whether it agreed with Trump's position that presidents cannot be investigated. But, citing the constitutional questions, the department said it wanted to provide its views. A spokeswoman for the department declined to comment on the ruling Monday.

The Constitution does not explicitly say whether presidents can be charged with a crime while in office, and the Supreme Court has not answered the question.

Federal prosecutors are barred from charging a sitting president with a crime because the Justice Department has decided that presidents have temporary immunity while they are in office.

But in the past, that position has not precluded investigating a president. Presidents, including Trump, have been subjects of federal criminal investigations while in office. Local prosecutors, such as Vance, are also not bound by the Justice Department's position.

As part of a temporary deal reached last month, Vance's office agreed not to enforce the subpoena until two days after Marrero issued a ruling, which would give Trump a chance to appeal if he lost. But that agreement was to expire at 1pm Monday.

The president and his lawyers have fought vigorously to shield his tax returns, which Trump said during the 2016 campaign that he would make public but has since refused to disclose.

Trump's lawyers have sued to block attempts by congressional Democrats and New York lawmakers to gain access to his tax returns and financial records. They also successfully challenged a California law requiring presidential primary candidates to release their tax returns.

If Vance ultimately prevails in obtaining the president's tax returns, they would not automatically become public. They would be protected by rules governing the secrecy of grand jury investigations unless the documents became evidence in a criminal case.

Trump's accounting firm, which he sued along with the district attorney's office to bar the company from turning over his returns, reissued the statement it released nearly three weeks ago when the lawsuit was filed, saying it "will respect the legal process and fully comply with its legal obligations."

Written by: William K. Rashbaum and Benjamin Weiser

Photographs by: T.J Kirkpatrick

© 2019 THE NEW YORK TIMES