The Second Circuit Court of Appeals granted President Donald Trump an emergency stay on Monday after a federal judge in New York City said the president must turn over years of tax filings and other financial records to Manhattan prosecutors.
Earlier Monday, President Trump’s lawsuit to prevent his personal and corporate tax returns from being released to the public got tossed out in a lower Manhattan court Monday.
U.S. District Judge Victor Marrero in the Southern District of New York ruled that withholding the taxes could “frustrate the administration of justice” in regard to President Trump’s conduct.
The president’s attorneys argued that he “enjoys absolute immunity from criminal process of any kind.” They also contend that this investigation into his taxes is politically motivated and should be stopped.
Marrero disagreed.
“Hence, the expansive notion of constitutional immunity invoked here to shield the president from judicial process would constitute an overreach of executive power,” Marrero said.
Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. subpoenaed the tax records in a probe into whether the Trump Organization violated the law in accounting for hush money payments made to two women before Trump’s election.
Following the ruling, President Trump accused Democrats of pressuring Manhattan prosecutors to seek out his financial records for political gain.
“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. A thing like this has never happened to any President before. Not even close!” he tweeted.
Speaking to NBC, President Trump’s personal lawyer Jay Sekulow said of the emergency stay: “We are very pleased that the Second Circuit Court of Appeals has issued a stay of the subpoena issued by New York District Attorney Cy Vance.”
The UPI contributed to this report.
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