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DOJ asks judge to temporarily block NY Trump tax returns subpoena

Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

The Justice Department asked a federal judge Wednesday to temporarily block a subpoena from New York prosecutors seeking to obtain 8 years of President Trump's personal and corporate tax returns from his longtime accounting firm, Mazars USA.

Details: In a filing, obtained by Talking Points Memo, Justice Department special counsel Joshua Gardner argues such action would raise several "significant constitutional issues that potentially implicate important interests of the United States" and should be decided in a federal, not state, court.

Context: Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance's office had subpoenaed the tax returns for its investigation into hush money payments made to Stormy Daniels during the 2016 election. Trump filed a lawsuit last month seeking to prevent the action.

The big picture: The Justice Department said in June that it supported the Treasury Department's decision not to release Trump's tax returns to Congress. The New York case is among several Trump lawsuits designed to block the release of his tax returns.

  • On Tuesday, a judge in California temporarily blocked a new state law requiring presidential candidates to release their tax returns in order to appear on primary ballots after Trump filed a lawsuit against the measure in August. State officials say they will appeal the ruling.
  • In July, Trump filed a lawsuit against House Democrats and the state of New York over a law that would permit tax officials to turn over his state tax returns.
  • In May, a federal judge in Manhattan declined a request by Trump, his family and his company to block Deutsche Bank from complying with a congressional subpoena for his financial records.

Read the court filing:

Go deeper:

Editor's note: This article has been updated with new details throughout.

Go deeper

Dave Lawler
5 mins ago - World

Biden to warn Putin U.S. will add troops in Eastern Europe if Russia invades Ukraine

Putin meets Biden in Geneva. Photo: Peter Klaunzer - Pool/Keystone via Getty

President Biden will warn Russian President Vladimir Putin when they speak on Tuesday that if Russia invades Ukraine, the U.S. is prepared to increase its troop presence, capabilities and military exercises on NATO's "eastern flank," a senior administration official told reporters.

Why it matters: The administration believes it's increasingly likely that Putin will order an invasion.

Go deeper (1 min. read)Arrow
Jacob Knutson
37 mins ago - World

U.S. announces diplomatic boycott of Beijing Winter Olympics

An Olympic-themed sculpture in Beijing on Dec. 1. Photo: Hou Yu/China News Service via Getty Images

The U.S. announced Monday that it will not send officials to the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics in protest of human rights abuses committed by the Chinese Communist Party.

Why it matters: The diplomatic boycott — which won't prevent American athletes from competing — marks a major escalation between the U.S. and China amid already heightened tensions over the CCP's treatment of Muslim minorities, military threats to Taiwan and economic tariffs.

Go deeper (1 min. read)Arrow
Andrew Freedman
Updated 52 mins ago - Energy & Environment

Stuck jet stream brings blowtorch December in Lower 48, frigid Alaska

Short-term climate outlook for Dec. 13-19, 2021, from the Climate Prediction Center at NOAA. (NOAA/CPC)

The Lower 48 states have seen record-shattering warmth so far this December, with temperatures running as high as 35°F above average for this time of year. The warmth has been so pronounced that during the weekend, brush fires broke out in a snowless, unusually mild Denver metro area.

The big picture: The jet stream, which is a river of air that rides at about 30,000 feet along the temperature contrast between air masses, steering storms as it goes, has been stuck in a position well north of the continental U.S., keeping storms and cold weather at bay.

Go deeper (2 min. read)Arrow