A federal judge on Monday said US President Donald Trump must hand over eight years of tax returns to Manhattan prosecutors, forcefully rejecting the president’s argument that he was immune from criminal investigations.
Trump’s immunity claim was “repugnant to the nation’s governmental structure and constitutional values,” US District Judge Victor Marrero wrote in a 75-page decision.
“The court cannot square a vision of presidential immunity that would place the President above the law,” Marrero added.
The Constitution does not say whether sitting presidents can be indicted, and the Supreme Court has not decided the issue.
Trump quickly filed an emergency appeal to the 2nd US. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan, which temporarily blocked Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance from enforcing the subpoena, citing the “unique issues” in the case.
Marrero’s decision would have forced Trump’s longtime accounting firm Mazars USA to start turning over documents on Monday afternoon.
