In the President’s latest attempt to throw everything against the wall and see what sticks in his war against Congressional oversight of any form, President Trump is seeking an emergency, immediate court order from a D.C. federal judge to prevent Congress from obtaining his tax information, according to a Wednesday court filing.
One day after suing the House Ways and Means Committee along with two New York State officials to block them from carrying out a recently passed Empire State law that would allow Congress to request Trump’s state returns, the President filed an emergency motion for a writ that would block the House panel from requesting the records before the court had a chance to review the issue.
“The President is in an intolerable situation: If he seeks relief after the Chairman requests his state tax returns, the returns might be disclosed before he can be heard in court,” wrote Trump personal attorney William Consovoy. “At the same time, immediate judicial review could force the Court to prematurely decide constitutional issues that might otherwise be avoided.”
Through Consovoy, Trump is demanding that Judge Trevor McFadden — appointed by the current President — issue an emergency order requiring House Ways and Means “to notify the Court if” Committee chair Rep. Richard Neal (D-MA) “intends to request the President’s state tax returns from New York.” As per the proposed order, the two sides would then hash out the legality of the request in court “until the President can obtain judicial review.”
Trump is the first president since Gerald Ford not to disclose his tax returns. Neal requested six years of his personal and business returns in April, but Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin rejected the request. After Mnuchin denied a follow-up subpoena for the records, the House sued in July.
In the Wednesday court filing, Trump wrote that Neal has been lambasted for his “insufficient ‘zeal for oversight'” as a result of allegedly slow-walking the tax return request. As chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, Neal is the sole Democrat in Congress empowered to request and receive the returns under the tax code.
“In the face of all these pressures, Chairman Neal recently change his stance toward the [New York State law]. (sic)” the filing reads.
Read the filing here:
Today in Opposite Land
Trump Moves To Preempt NY State Tax Return Request
. . . By Voluntarily Submitting State and Federal Tax Returns
I think Bizarro Trump is the same as the Trump we see, because … well, bizarro is what he is.
Because Trump is the most transparent President ever. I guess that really means that we can see through his every move!
Let’s be honest: if Trump were tried in open court, found guilty, and sentenced to 50 years in prison, he would sue to stop the bailiff from escorting him from the courtroom. He’d sue to prevent the judge from filing the paperwork with the clerk of the court. He would sue to prevent the clerk of the court from reporting to work. He would sue to prevent the court from reading its own records. He would sue to prevent the judge from putting on the robe. He would sue to prevent the judge from impaneling a jury. He would sue to prevent the appointment of lawyers for the prosecution.
Trump is a “cold, dead hands” guy: he will never surrender anything. If you want something from him, you must take it by force. And by “force,” I mean federal marshals will have to physically restrain him like he’s having a grand mal seizure.
And the truth is that Trump deserves to have his stuff taken from him. He deserves the equivalent of a mugging by the legal system.
Putting aside the NYS law, what about the legal future of the original suit since the law is so clear in that Congress shall get the tax returns with no stipulations? Assuming this issue gets all the way to the Supreme Court, which it will, what will the split be. Can we really expect a 9-0 decision against with this group who will literally make up something if possible not to allow the disclosure? Of course the DC circuit may rule against Trump and they refuse to take it up. But they only need 4 to agree to do so.