Judge Denies Trump’s Appeal Challenge To Manhattan District Attorney’s Subpoena For Tax Records

U.S. District Judge Victor Marrero sided with the Manhattan District Attorney on Thursday, throwing out an appeal by President Donald Trump against a subpoena for his tax records. Marrero ruled that the president failed to make a compelling case that the subpoena would represent an “unfair burden” against him, CNBC reports.

DA Cy Vance Jr. has been attempting to uncover Trump’s tax records as part of an investigation into his potential breach of state law.

In July, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Trump was not immune to state subpoenas as president. That ruling left open the potential for Trump to appeal the subpoena on different grounds. However, Marrero ruled that tthe claim that the request for Trump’s tax records was an unfair burden and was made in bad faith were essentially an argument for “absolute [presidential] immunity through a back door.”

At a press conference Thursday, Trump called the ruling "a continuation of the most disgusting witch hunt in the history of our country."

Jay Sekulow, Trump’s attorney, said that the president would appeal this latest decision in a higher court.

Vance’s subpoena aims to acquire Trump’s personal and business records from his longtime accounting firm, Mazars USA. This includes his elusive tax returns, going all the way back to 2011.

The exact targets of Vance’s investigation are somewhat vague at this point, with recent filings earlier in the month suggesting that he may be seeking to bring bank and insurance fraud charges. His office is also said to be investigating claims that the Trump campaign, through former lawyer Michael Cohen, paid off porn actress Stormy Daniels in 2016 to keep her quiet about an earlier affair with Trump.

While publicly disclosing tax information has become commonplace for presidential candidates, Trump has broken with tradition and refused to release his information on numerous grounds since he began running for office in 2015.