Donald Trump Files Lawsuit To Prevent His New York State Tax Records From Being Released

President Donald Trump has filed a lawsuit against the New York attorney general, the New York tax commissioner and the House Ways and Means Committee in his ongoing effort to prevent the release of his tax returns. 

Trump wants the court to grant him a number of restraining and authoritative orders that would protect him from what his lawyer Jay Sekulow calls “harassment.”

Sekulow said that the president is being persecuted by the three parties which “violates Article 1 of the U.S. Constitution.” He also added that the parties need for Trump’s taxes is “nothing more than political retribution.”

The suit was filed as the president is attempting to appeal court rulings that ruled against Trump when he tried to stop Congressional committees from obtaining his financial records.

In a statement, New York Attorney General Letitia James said that the president’s entire career has been “hiding behind lawsuits.”  

Last month, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed an amendment into law that would enable Congress to obtain Trump’s state tax returns.

Sekulow stated that the new law is a “campaign… to uncover and expose the President’s financial information in the hopes of damaging him politically.” 

Trump’s lawyer said that the Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee Richard Neal is under pressure by his fellow Democrats to use the new law. Neal stated that the law is being reviewed by the House counsel, which may lead to action. 

The President’s lawyer said that the “review could end… at any time,” and “New York could respond to the request nearly instantaneously.”

Trump argues that the House committee had no jurisdiction over his state taxes. His team also argues that the law itself is unconstitutional and should be blocked.

The lawsuit states that New York “enacted [the law] to discriminate and retaliate against President Trump for his speech and politics.”

Trump’s taxes have been a major issue since he announced his candidacy. 

“Voters heard the criticisms from Secretary Clinton, and they elected President Trump anyway. Democrats in Congress and across the country, however, have only become more eager to disclose the President’s tax returns for political gain,” the lawsuit says. 

Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-New Jersey), a member of the House Ways and Means committee, said that the lawsuit was nothing more than a sad “stunt.” He added that Trump’s team has “blocked congressional testimony, they’ve obstructed prosecutorial investigations, and they’ve abused executive privilege,” in their effort to defend the president’s wrong doings.

In early July, the Committee upped their fight to obtain Trump’s financial records by filing a lawsuit that forces those subpoenaed to provide information requested about the president’s records. The suit was against filed the head of the Treasury Department, Steven Mnuchin and IRS commissioner Charles P. Rettig.

The suit came after Neal’s initial request for Trump’s information and after the Treasury Department denied his request. On May 10, Neal issued subpoenas to the IRS and the Treasury Department.  

Neal is utilizing an IRS provision called 6103. It enables the chairman of the House Ways and Means committee to obtain an individual’s tax documents for legitimate legal purpose. 

This lawsuit adds to the other suits made by other committees as well as members of Congress who are seeking the president’s financial records. 

Trump has also blocked action in a case where the House Intelligence Committee, the House Oversight Committee and the House Financial Services Committee have also been attempting to obtain his financial records from DeutscheBank, Capital One and Mazars USA, an accounting firm.

Trump has filed appeals on the cases, and these cases are not likely to be resolved soon. 

Article by Benjamin Wuersch