Second Circuit Rules Manhattan DA Can Obtain Trump’s Financial Documents
A 3-0 ruling from a panel on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit rejects the president’s efforts to shield his financial records.
Published by The Lawfare Institute
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A unanimous three-judge panel for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruled on Oct. 7 that Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance can enforce his subpoena for eight years of President Trump’s tax returns and related financial records. Vance issued the subpoena on behalf of a grand jury to Trump’s accounting firm, Mazars USA, in 2019 as part of an investigation into the president and his business practices. The ruling is a blow to the president’s yearlong effort to shield his tax records from investigators.
The panel rejected the arguments of the president’s legal team that the subpoena was too broad and that it was a political move issued in bad faith.
“None of the president’s allegations, taken together or separately, are sufficient to raise a plausible inference that the subpoena was issued out of malice or an intent to harass,” the panel ruled.
The president’s lawyers have said they will once again appeal the case to the Supreme Court. Vance has agreed to wait at least 12 days before enforcing the subpoena to allow Trump time to seek a stay from the Court.
You can read the ruling here and below:
