Trump Appeals to Supreme Court to Keep Tax Returns From NY Officials

President Donald Trump makes his way to board Air Force One before departing from Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland on Nov. 4, 2019. (Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images)

President Donald Trump has appealed to the Supreme Court to keep his tax returns from New York prosecutors, according to his counsel, Jay Sekulow.

Trump appealed to reverse a lower court order that required his accountants, Mazars USA, to turn over eight years of tax returns.

“We have filed a petition with the U.S. Supreme Court seeking to overturn the Second Circuit decision regarding a subpoena issued by the New York County District Attorney,” Jay Sekulow, Trump’s lawyer said in a statement, according to ABC News. “The Second Circuit decision is wrong and should be reversed. In our petition, we assert that the subpoena violates the U.S. Constitution and therefore is unenforceable.”

He added, “We are hopeful that the Supreme Court will grant review in this significant constitutional case and reverse the dangerous and damaging decision of the appeals court.”

The district attorney’s office has said, “There is no such thing as presidential immunity for tax returns,” according to ABC.

Last week, a federal appeals court in New York said Manhattan prosecutors could subpoena against Mazars USA over Trump’s financial records.

The president’s team has said they are attempting to shield tax returns from the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, headed by Cyrus Vance Jr., who is investigating payments made to two women.

But the Second Appeals Court, located in Manhattan, said in a ruling that it  has “no occasion to decide today the precise contours and limitations of presidential immunity from prosecution, and we express no opinion on the applicability of any such immunity under circumstances not presented here.”

It added, “Instead, after reviewing historical and legal precedent, we conclude only that presidential immunity does not bar the enforcement of a state grand jury subpoena directing a third party to produce non-privileged material, even when the subject matter under investigation pertains to the president.”

The wrangling over the Trump’s tax returns has frequently drawn backlash from the president himself.

“The Radical Left Democrats have failed on all fronts, so now they are pushing local New York City and State Democrat prosecutors to go get President Trump,” Trump wrote on Twitter in October. “A thing like this has never happened to any President before. Not even close!”

At the same time, in a separate case involving his taxes, a federal appeals court ruled on Wednesday that House Democrats can obtain the financial records.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit voted 8–3 to a petition from Trump’s lawyers for a rehearing by the full court. Seven judges appointed by Democratic presidents and Judge Thomas Griffith, who was appointed by Republican President George W. Bush, voted against Trump. The remaining judges were appointed by Republicans.