Judge denies President Trump's request to keep tax returns secret
NEW YORK - A federal judge has ordered President Trump to hand over eight years of his tax returns to a New York state criminal investigation.
The judge dismissed the president's efforts to use total immunity as a source of protection while in office.
This ruling favors an investigation into hush money paid to two women who claim they had affairs with Mr. trump: Stormy Daniels, of Louisiana and Karen McDougal, of Indiana.
On Monday, Judge Victor Marrero released a 75-paged decision which says, in part, that he could not allow a "categorical and limitless assertion of presidential immunity from judicial process."
Judge Marrero concluded that when stripped down to its core, the president's argument was "repugnant to the nation's governmental structure and constitutional values."
Mr. Trump's lawyers immediately filed an emergency appeal with a higher court, with the President tweeting about the ruling, claiming that Democrats were "pushing local New York City and State Democrat prosecutors to go get President Trump."
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The Radical Left Democrats have failed on all fronts, so now they are pushing local New York City and State Democrat prosecutors to go get President Trump. A thing like this has never happened to any President before. Not even close!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 7, 2019
The ruling raises the likelihood that the president's tax returns will be provided in response to the subpoena.
That said, any material obtained through a grand jury subpoena is covered by grand jury secrecy rules, meaning it would likely become public only if it were used as evidence at a trial.