Trump Battles To Block Release Of New York Taxes

Talking Points Memo reports:

It appears likely New York will have to wait to produce any of President Trump’s tax returns Congress may request, until certain legal questions surrounding a dispute over such a hypothetical request are settled.

At a teleconference hearing on Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols said he was “leaning” towards adopting a proposal that New York officials put forward for dealing with concerns he raised about the state’s new tax law allowing it to hand over Trump’s state returns to Congress.

Specifically, the judge was worried that due to the nature of the law, New York would be able to produce Trump’s tax returns as soon as the House requested them, giving the President no opportunity to legally challenge the request.

The Rochester Democrat reports:

It was the latest in Trump’s lawsuit trying to block New York’s TRUST Act, which was approved by state lawmakers in May and June and quickly signed into law by Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat.

The state law allows the state Department of Taxation and Finance to release the tax returns of elected officials, top-level appointees and their business operations if they are formally requested by three key congressional committees, including Ways and Means.

Nichols is a Trump appointee.