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Trump, RNC sue California over election law to release tax returns

Photo: Nicholas Kamm/AFP/Getty Images

President Trump, his 2020 campaign and the RNC sued California Tuesday over its law that requires presidential and gubernatorial candidates to release their 5 most recent years' tax returns before they can appear on the state's primary ballot.

The big picture: The California law directly challenges Trump's continued refusal to release his tax returns, but the lawsuits argue it violates the Constitution by creating an extra requirement to become president.

  • The Constitution has 3 requirements for president — be a natural born citizen, be at least 35 or older and be a U.S. resident for at least 14 years.

The state of play: The two suits were filed in the Eastern District of California — one by the RNC, the California Republican Party and several California Republican voters, and the other by Trump and his campaign — and mark "the latest flash point between the White House and the state of California, which is involved in more than 40 lawsuits against the Trump administration," the NYT's Annie Karni writes.

  • Trump and the Treasury Department are in several legal battles with the House Ways and Means Committee and New York state officials, respectively, over his federal and state tax returns.

Read Trump's lawsuit:

Go deeper: Justice Department backs Treasury on blocking Trump tax returns

Trump tax returns