Federal judge appointed by Donald Trump REJECTS his bid to sue New York state officials in Washington D.C. to stop his tax returns being handed to Democrat
- A federal judge appointed by President Trump in June ruled Monday that his court doesn’t have jurisdiction over a tax return related case
- Lawyers for Trump sued New York officials in July over a new state law that could allow Congress to get the president’s New York state tax returns
- U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols said Trump couldn’t sue the officials in Washington, D.C., though said he could refile the case in New York
A federal judge appointed by President Trump earlier this year dismissed a lawsuit Monday against New York’s attorney general and state tax commissioner ruling that his D.C. court doesn’t have jurisdiction over the matter.
U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols, who is based in Washington, D.C., said he lacked jurisdiction over Attorney General Letitia James and Michael Schmidt, the commissioner of the state’s Department of Taxation and Finance.
Trump had sued the New Yorkers in an effort to keep his state tax returns under wraps in case House Democrats utilized a new New York law to request them.
A federal judge appointed by President Trump (pictured) ruled that the president couldn’t sue New York officials in D.C. court. Lawyers for the president are trying to prevent his New York state tax returns from being handed over to Congressional Democrats
In a 19 page opinion, Nichols said that Trump could sue the New York officials in New York instead.
Earlier this year, New York passed a law that would allow the House Ways and Means Committee to access Trump’s tax returns.
U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols said President Trump couldn’t sue New York officials in D.C. over a law that could allow Congress to get his New York state tax returns
In turn, Trump’s lawyers filed a lawsuit in July, arguing that the New York law violates his free speech rights.
The New York law ‘was enacted to retalitate against the president because of his policy positions, his political beliefs, and his protected speech, including the positions he took during the 2016 campaign,’ Trump’s lawyers argued in the court filing.
House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal, a Massachusetts Democrat, has yet to request Trump’s state returns from New York.
Even so, Trump’s lawyers filed the lawsuit and argued that an emergency court order was needed because his New York returns might be disclosed before the president’s opposition could be heard in court.
New York state tax officials agreed to not hand over the tax returns any sooner than seven days after Nichols made a ruling of where the case should be heard.
And despite Nichols kicking the case to New York, his ruling Monday may not end the lawsuit before the judge.
Nichols said another option for Trump would be suing the House Ways and Means Committee when the committee requests his state tax returns from New York.
Nichols was appointed to the court in June 2019.