MANHATTAN’S TOP LAWYER WANTS TRUMP TO YIELD TAX RECORDS

Manhattan’s top prosecutor told a US court on Thursday (Friday, August 28, 2020 in Manila) he should be able to obtain President Donald Trump’s tax returns, saying Trump cannot immunize himself from a criminal probe of his business practices by pursuing an appeal that has “no chance of success.”

Cyrus Vance, the Manhattan district attorney, urged the 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan in a filing to reject Trump’s emergency bid to block a subpoena to the president’s accounting firm, Mazars USA, for eight years of tax returns. Trump has until Monday to respond in writing. Oral arguments are scheduled for Sept. 1, Jonathan Stempel reported for Reuters.

The Republican president has been fighting to block Vance’s subpoena for a year, including at the US Supreme Court, which last month rejected his argument that he has immunity from criminal probes while in the White House. Trump later claimed that Vance’s subpoena was “wildly overbroad” and issued in “bad faith,” largely mirroring similar subpoena issued by congressional Democrats. He has also called Vance’s subpoena part of a “witch hunt,” saying the case will likely head back to the Supreme Court.

Vance shrugged off the objections, saying Trump, who was noted for business bankruptcies, is not entitled to royal treatment and his tax records are covered by grand jury confidentiality rules.