U.S. District Judge Victor Marrero in New York has rejected the effort of President Donald Trump to block a subpoena of Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance, Jr., for his tax returns. As I noted when the action was filed, the position of the President that he cannot be subject to any criminal process of any kind while in office is extreme and unsupportable in the Constitution. The full opinion is below.
Vance is looking into whether Trump’s payment of hush money to two women before the 2016 election violated New York law. Vance acted under the authority of “an ongoing state criminal prosecution.” Trump argued that a sitting president cannot be subject to such criminal investigation.
Marrero noted correctly that the defense is entirely unwarranted:
“Consider the reach of the President’s argument. As the Court reads it, presidential immunity would stretch to cover every phase of criminal proceedings, including investigations, grand jury proceedings and subpoenas, indictment, prosecution, arrest, trial, conviction, and incarceration. That constitutional protection presumably would encompass any conduct, at any time, in any forum, whether federal or state, and whether the President acted alone or in concert with other individuals.”
The Trump team is likely to appeal the ruling but kicking this can down the road will not be a sustainable strategy for much longer. The argument is so extreme that it is doubtful that the President to hold all of the conservative justices in maintaining such arguments. The court is correct that the implications of this defense are chilling. It would create a sweeping immunity in a president who would be able to engage in criminal conduct in office with impunity. Impeachment is a power that goes to the office. Indictment goes to the individual. A president remains subject to both forms of investigation.
Here is the opinion: Trump Tax Return Decision
Indict! Early and often.
😐
https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/political-commentary/whistleblower-ukraine-trump-impeach-cia-spying-895529/
https://www.fitsnews.com/2019/09/30/ron-paul-impeachment-or-cia-coup/
unelected rogue spies from CIA seek to topple American POTUS as they’ve done to foreign heads of states, so many times?
WTH? Obombya totally walks after he commits cold blooded murder of two American Muslim citizens (incinerates them both with a drone), both father and 16 year old son named Anwar Al-Awlaki, and Trump can’t even keep his tax returns confidential?
I guess with an on going Coup against the USA, the Prez & National Security & everything Trump should walk over w/Marines, grab most the people involved Tax Returns, Congressmen/Kids/Friends as well, & release it to the public.
Let us citizens see how they go into office Broke & come out multi millionaires.
And how about those judges, their kids, etc..
Well just have them all strip naked to make sure their being truthful & not hiding anything, do a Drug Test & have TSA give them an Anal Probe.
Hell, if it’s good enough for the citizens they have to have the same treatment, we wouldn’t want to discriminate now would we
RE: Oky1 says:
October 7, 2019 at 4:39 PM
What they should support is the release of incomplete tax returns but we have a mechanism for that called the Tax Court. In any case by incomplete I mean the incomplete tax returns of those such as Elizabeth Warren who only released her returns from income from public office and failed to replace her tax returns from time in private corporate employment. – or – where wrong doing has been not only proven but confessed to openly such as swindling the various universities who paid her up to $400,000 for falsely claiming to qualify for the set standards. We not she has done nothing to refund the money which in and of itself is a new chargeable offense.
If this gets to the SCOTUS, do any of you think the justices might consider that affirming the lower court would give the green light to every D.A. in the country and would open a Pandora’s box for every future president?
good question RSA especially when the former CIA director is essentially calling for a general strike against the president by would an “unlimited number” of whistleblowers
https://twitter.com/JohnBrennan/status/1177917399254872064
is this kind of insubordination and sabotage what POTUS is going to have to deal with hereafter?
or just the Republicans? Or just the Republicans who don’t curry favor to certain um agencies?
In a constitutional America, no “tax returns” exist because an IRS does not exist because an IRS is not constitutional or necessary because the welfare state of redistribution of wealth and social engineering does not exist and all the communist agencies and departments do not exist because America exists only in freedom of free individuals, private property and free enterprise.
Oh yeah, that’s what the Founders established, huh? What the heck happened to free America; to freedom, free enterprise and self-reliance? Oh yeah, Karl Marx happened. Fun Fact: Marx publishes the Communist Manifesto in 1848 – “Crazy Abe” Lincoln starts his war for a classless society 13 years later – Comrade Abe was all fired up!
The American Founders provided maximal freedom to individuals and severely limited and restricted government to providing security and infrastructure to facilitate that freedom. The Founders provided government no power to plan, control, redistribute or engineer America. All that was to be a function of free people. The entire American welfare state is unconstitutional.
The Supreme Court is so smart it doesn’t know its charge which is to “…declare all acts contrary to the manifest tenor of the Constitution void.” The treasonous judicial branch illegally “modifies” and “legislates from the bench” when it “decides” its “interpretation.” If you understand the language, you don’t need an interpreter. Think about it. Article 1, Section 8 – 5th Amendment – read it. Government can’t tax for redistribution, regulate or tell any American what to do with their private property.
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Constitution and Bill of Rights?
We don’t need no stinking Constitution and Bill of Rights!!!
Vance is looking into whether Trump’s payment of hush money to two women before the 2016 election violated New York law.
If this is not a fishing expedition, then why is the subpoena demanding tax returns going back to 2011?
The subpoena is to Mazars USA, Trump’s accounting firm, for federal and state tax returns for both the president and his company, dating back to 2011.
https://www.nationalreview.com/news/judge-rules-trump-must-hand-over-tax-returns-to-manhattan-da/
Aanyone who can’t see there is no legitimate reason for Trump to give up these returns is blind.
The best solution to this problem is to dig up dirt on Vance. Which you know damned well is there.
no need to give creedence to the overly broad adminstration argument, simply say that the subpoenas are excessive, intrustive, and invalid, and hammer it.
judges bury stuff under simple rulings all the time.
I had discovery requests for very relevant and discoverable information brushed aside by judges at motions to compel. they’re normally thought of as incredibly obnoxious. in my thing, I wouldn’t have asked if i was just fishing. i wasnt. but they swatted them aside anyhow, deference to high powered defendant shown as a matter of due course
Trump is a high powered defendant in high powered cross hairs. problem kicked upstairs for further handling
America becomes more ungovernable by democratically elected officials by the day, as the bureaucratic lawfare onslaught against Trumps keeps on trudging along paid for mostly by the taxpayers in case you guys didn’t realize that this naked vendetta against him is a form of bureaucratic corruption in itself
i meant, discovery requests for tax return information, to validate assertions made by a plaintiff in their own action. normally when somebody brings a suit they are subject to certain forms of waiver of privacy in the relevant matters brought to the court. normally that is.
of course it was just a private suit and this is a request from an august public official
I have to disagree about handing over 8 years of tax returns.
For what purpose.
If the alleged crime happened in 2016, then only 2016 should apply.
If payment was made by a corporation and not an individual, then that corporation could have its records and tax return reviewed.
As I understand Michael Cohn made payment.
One of the many corporations made payment to Cohn.
No possible reason to go beyond the corporation making payment.
Vance is looking into whether Trump’s payment of hush money to two women before the 2016 election violated New York law.
And he needs to provide tax returns to show what, that he didn’t itemize those payments? Did the women report hush money income on their returns? Did Cohen report hush money income on his? Is it illegal to pay someone that is blackmailing you? Is it illegal to pay an extortionist and then deny you paid them?
How is trying to dig up dirt on Donald Trump, on events unconnected with his public office, a principled endeavor, but investigating corruption committed by individuals while in public office, is considered an impeachable offense?
Olly, all really good points.
Creating retro-active laws and using them to discriminate against individuals is the definition of a fascist mindset we are seeing from Democrats. This is just another attempt at selective prosecution by Democrats/liberals. Similar to creating crimes like “collusion” when they meant treason but we knew treason was irrational and absurd. Similar to claiming obstruction when someone fully cooperates but publicly defends their innocence (which was later proven). Similar to claiming Trump is hiding evidence when the transcript was released 48 hours later. The Democrats have literally lost their mind and are making up narratives/lies at every turn. Evidence for my claim: Adam Shiff. We shouldn’t be duped by their incivility and lies.
The Trump admin retroactively classifying the Hillary emails would seem to fit your definition of a fascist mindset. Also the word for word transcript is still hidden on a super secure server if it hasn’t been deleted. What you got was a cliff notes summary a la the Nixon transcripts that didn’t at all match the Nixon tapes. Two whistleblowers are alleging that “transcript” doesn’t cover the scope of the conversation. The text messages indicate reasonable likelihood that a quid pro quo was understood by parties in the US and Ukraine admin. Trump has duped you.
If as stated, Vance is looking to whether Trumps payment to the women was violations of state law, what in the world sdo Trump tax returns have to do with it?
This is why there are appeals courts.
I’d give them up if I were Trump with a “chain of custody” requirement on any viewers that would pinpoint the inevitable leaker.
Yup, there would be leaks, more leaks, and damn leaks. Is this the message we want to send out to any potential presidential candidate? I think the better financial disclosure would be to have the financial disclosure on the day of Oath, and again on the end of the presidents term of office. That way we can really see just how much gain was made by being included in the underhanded payment & other financial corruption of America, through which the president received a very large financial benefit.
Very politically connected Democrat this judge Marrero.
Born in Puerto Rico, NYU & Yale, Clinton appointee, very involved in NYC Politics and city government, struck down parts of Patriot Act. Dyed-in-the wool Liberal.
And I thought this kind of “Identity Politics” was what the Right accused the Left of doing!
It’s what you go by when other information is lacking. It’s not how you set policy.
For the past 3 years the response of the Left has been a collective apoplexy. The “no more wire hangers” scene in the film “Mommy Dearest” about Joan Crawford comes to mind.
I interact with hundreds of people day to day, and not one ever mentions the issues that the Left continually parade on American airwaves. it is all about their “outrage”, their “discomfort”, their “hysteria” and their “misery” even if all of the key players are millionaires.
The identity, political leanings and schooling are utterly irrelevant. That is why judges take an oath. Now you may not believe so, but that is the law.
“…struck down parts of Patriot Act”
And that was a bad thing, IYO?
https://www.aclu.org/press-releases/aclu-case-federal-court-strikes-down-patriot-act-surveillance-power-unconstitutional
‘The court explicitly rejected the government’s increasing move toward secret and coercive investigatory tactics in the post-9/11 environment. In striking down the gag provision, the court said: “Under the mantle of secrecy, the self-preservation that ordinarily impels our government to censorship and secrecy may potentially be turned on ourselves as a weapon of self-destruction.” ‘
And what? Is that grounds for an appeal to a higher court?
So now we no longer have a President running the Executive Branch of the US Govt, but we are now “Lorded Over” by a pack of Commie/Nazi American Hatin Trash in black robes & small time prosecutors all controlled by Globalist Tyrants etc…etc…
Phil Mudd & his Terrorist friends in US intel leadership threatening my/our US govt & to assassinate the Prez & staff, almost daily for 4 years. You know… 6 ways to Sunday azzholes.
Professor Turley, how do you like this new extra judicial Authoritarian Sh*thole you’ve helped create?
A Prez can’t even talk on a phone or have ran a successful biz,etc.,, that seems now the case & all those pushing this can go to hell.
About damn time Trump has called up the US marines to look at taking them out.
The Traitors might consider retiring early & leaving the US for good. Oh yes we know the military has a list with your names on it.
https://www.infowars.com/breaking-trump-activates-marine-corp-to-counter-deep-state-coup/
https://www.infowars.com/watch-live-president-trump-prepares-for-assassination-attempt-by-organizing-marines-in-defense/
We all know that once anyone gets hands on tax returns they will be leaked without any consequences! What is reason for this?