President Trump really doesn't want the American people to see any of his tax returns.
Trump, who has been successful so far in blocking Congress from seeing his federal tax records, filed a lawsuit Tuesday against House Democrats and a couple of New York state officials in an aggressive attempt to keep his state returns from seeing the light of day as well.
The lawsuit against the House Ways and Means Committee, Attorney General Letitia James and state tax commissioner Michael Schmidt is asking for an injunction to block the Democratically-controlled congressional panel from using a new state law called the TRUST Act to obtain his state tax papers.
The TRUST Act, which was signed by Gov. Cuomo last month, allows the New York Department of Taxation and Finance to turn over state returns to congressional committees requesting them.
But Trump's lawsuit, filed in federal court in Washington, D.C., contends that the House Ways and Means Committee lacks "a legitimate legislative purpose" in seeking his state papers and that the TRUST Act violates the First Amendment because the Empire State supposedly "enacted it to discriminate and retaliate against President Trump for his speech and politics."
"The actions taken by the House and New York officials are nothing more than political retribution," Trump lawyer Jay Sekulow said in a statement.
James called bull.
"Trump has spent his career hiding behind lawsuits, but, as New York's chief law enforcement officer, I can assure him that no one is above the law -- not even the president of the United States," the state AG said in a statement.
"The TRUST Act will shine a light on the president's finances and finally offer transparency to millions of Americans yearning to know the truth. We have all the confidence that this law is legal and we will vigorously defend it against any court challenge."
Trump is the only president in modern memory to refuse to release his tax returns for public scrutiny upon taking office, prompting widespread speculation about what he may be hiding.
House Ways and Means Chairman Richard Neal has been locked in a contentious battle with the administration over Trump's federal returns for months.
He sued the Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service earlier this month after the agencies refused to comply with subpoenas requesting Trump's past six business and personal returns.
Neal, who argues his committee needs to pour over Trump's federal returns to enact legislation relating to presidential IRS audits, has not yet said whether he's going to lean on the TRUST Act to get his hands on the state returns.
But New York legislators have urged Neal to make use of the law they passed, saying the state returns will contain much of the same information that's in the federal records.
"I have every confidence that the president's legal challenge will fail and New York's standing offer to support Congress in its oversight role on taxes will remain in effect," Assemblyman David Buchwald (D-White Plains), a sponsor on the TRUST Act, told the Daily News. "It's no surprise that the president has moved quickly in an attempt to strike down New York's tax transparency law as he is fighting the release of his tax returns on every front."
Sen. Brad Hoylman (D-Manhattan), the legislation's state senate sponsor, said he believes the lawsuit is "without merit."
"New York State has an interest in supporting the lawful oversight responsibilities of the U.S. Congress," he said. "I'm confident the law will be upheld at the end of the day."
Public interest in Trump's tax records peaked after his former personal fixer, Michael Cohen, testified under oath earlier this year that the papers would corroborate allegations that the president has committed tax and bank fraud.
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