• President Donald Trump’s lawyers are duking it out with New York state prosecutors over a subpoena for his tax returns in a case that is likely to go all the way to the Supreme Court.
• Trump’s lawyers argue that the subpoena should be nullified because, as president, Trump is immune not just from criminal prosecution but from any investigation at all.
• Constitutional scholars told Insider there’s no legal precedent backing up Trump’s position, which one called “untenable.”
• “Chief Justice John Roberts looks for big cases around which he can build a consensus,” one legal expert said. “That’s exactly this case. I suspect that the vote at the Supreme Court would be 7-2, 8-1, or even 9-0 in favor of the state of New York.”
• Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.

President Donald Trump’s lawyers are putting forth a bold argument as they battle a subpoena from New York state prosecutors for Trump’s tax returns: that the president is immune not just from criminal prosecution but from the criminal investigation as well so long as he is in office.

The notion that a sitting president cannot be indicted isn’t new; it was put forth in a 1973 memo from the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel under the Nixon administration and proved pivotal in the special counsel’s Russia investigation.

But Trump’s argument — that he’s immune from being investigated in the first place — has confounded legal and constitutional scholars and even sitting judges.

The fight over Trump’s taxes is likely to make it all the way to the Supreme Court. If he loses, the public would get a window into Trump’s closely-held finances before the 2020 election.

Louis Seidman, a professor of constitutional law at Georgetown University, told Insider that there’s no legal precedent backing up the Office of Legal Counsel memo’s claim. The Supreme Court also held, in Clinton v. Jones, that a president could be sued civilly while in office.

Moreover, even the Office of Legal Counsel opinion doesn’t go as far as to say a sitting president cannot be criminally investigated while in office, as Trump’s lawyers have claimed in the legal fight over his tax returns.

To be sure, “even if actual indictment has to be delayed, there can be strong reasons to investigate now while the recollection of witnesses is fresh and evidence is still available,” Seidman said.

The subpoena for Trump’s taxes, issued by the Manhattan district attorney’s office, is part of a criminal investigation into whether the Trump Organization fabricated business records related to hush-money payments made to women who say they’ve had affairs with Trump.

After the Manhattan district attorney, Cyrus Vance Jr., subpoenaed Trump’s accounting firm for the records, Trump’s team countersued to nullify the subpoena.

An ‘untenable’ position

Earlier this month, US District Judge Victor Marrero dismissed the countersuit, ruling that Trump’s lawyers were making an “extraordinary” reach that was “repugnant to the nation’s governmental structure and constitutional values.”

Marrero wrote that Trump’s argument implied “the constitutional dimensions of the presidential shield from the judicial process are virtually limitless.”

If that argument held, then until Trump leaves office, “his exemption from criminal proceedings would extend not only to matters arising from the performance of the President’s duties and functions in his official capacity, but also to ones arising from his private affairs, financial transactions, and all other conduct undertaken by him as an ordinary citizen both during and before his tenure in office,” the ruling said.

Trump’s lawyers contested the ruling, and the case is now being considered by the federal appeals court in New York.

On Wednesday, during a hearing before the three-judge appeals court panel, Trump’s lawyers went a step further and said the president would theoretically be immune from investigation or prosecution even if he were to shoot someone in the middle of Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, alluding to comments he made during the 2016 election.

Jens David Ohlin, a vice dean at Cornell Law School who is an expert in constitutional and criminal law, told Insider that the case looked “destined” for the Supreme Court — and not because it’s a close call but rather because it’s the opposite.

“Chief Justice John Roberts looks for big cases around which he can build a consensus,” Ohlin said. “That’s exactly this case. I suspect that the vote at the Supreme Court would be 7-2, 8-1, or even 9-0 in favor of the state of New York.”

Ohlin added that Trump’s legal position was “untenable” and stood little chance of withstanding scrutiny.

“Even if you accept that the president can’t be indicted while in office (which is contested), the president must be subject to investigation; otherwise, it would be nearly impossible to prosecute him after leaving office,” he said. “It would also be impossible to prosecute conspirators who don’t have presidential immunity because both — the conspirators and Trump — would be part of the same investigation.”

Seidman struck a more cautious tone, suggesting that how the Supreme Court would rule was anyone’s guess. The bench has a 5-4 conservative majority, and two of the justices were appointed by Trump.

Cases surrounding the president, Seidman said, are so politicized that predicting how the highest court would rule is “more a judgment about what the individuals think about Trump than what they think about the law.”

• Read more:
• Trump’s lawyers say he couldn’t be investigated or prosecuted if he shot someone on 5th Avenue
• Newly uncovered tax documents show Trump kept ‘2 sets of books’ and may have committed financial fraud
• A federal court ordered Trump’s accounting firm to turn over 8 years of his taxes to Congress
• A Fox News poll just found that more than half of American voters want Trump impeached and removed from office

Source: https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-taxes-new-york-subpoena-supreme-court-2019-10

The post Legal experts say Trump’s last-ditch effort to hide his taxes is ‘untenable,’ and we could see them as soon as next year first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

The State Senate passed a bill on Thursday that would require presidential and vice presidential candidates to release their tax returns for the previous five years—at least 50 days before the general election—in order to qualify to have their names on the ballot. The bill says that they would have to file copies with the Division of Elections in the Department of State, and also consent to having them made public. The Division of Elections would then post them online within seven days of receiving them. The bill does allow for redactions to be made, where the Division and State Attorney General deem appropriate.

The bill, known as S-119, also aims to block a loophole by preventing the state’s electors from going off on their own and voting for someone who doesn’t comply.

“An elector shall not vote for a candidate for President or Vice-President of the United States, unless the candidate had filed, or caused to be filed, the candidate’s federal income tax return in accordance with [the bill],” it says.

The bill says it would go into effect immediately, upon being signed into law, to ensure that it applies to the next presidential election.

The bill still has to go to the State Assembly for a vote before it goes to the desk of Gov. Phil Murphy (D). A similar bill passed both houses in 2017, but then-Governor Chris Christie (R), a friend of Trump who campaigned for him, vetoed it. Other states have tried similar measures, but none have become law.

With a Democratic governor, New Jersey could be the first state to enact a law like this, but that doesn’t mean it will last. There will certainly be legal challenges well before the 2020 election.

New Jersey attorney John Carbone pointed out issues to the Courier Post.

“It’s just political pandering,” said Carbone, whose practice includes election law. “They can impose no requirements for a candidate for federal office, let alone president.”

Trump has a long history with the State of New Jersey. He was once known for casinos in Atlantic City, and he continues to run the well-known Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster.

Source: https://lawandcrime.com/high-profile/lawmakers-pass-bill-to-force-trump-to-release-tax-returns-or-be-left-off-ballot/

The post Lawmakers Pass Bill to Force Trump to Release Tax Returns or Be Left Off Ballot first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.