WTF Just Happened Today

Thursday, November 14, 2019

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1/ A federal appeals court ruled that Trump's accounting firm must comply with a congressional subpoena for eight years of Trump's tax returns. The U.S. Court of Appeals in D.C. voted 8-3 to reject Trump's arguments that Congress didn't have the authority to request his business records because the House Oversight and Reform Committee only needed them to determine whether Trump broke existing laws – not whether to enact a new law. The House committee subpoenaed Trump's accounting firm, Mazars USA, in March demanding a broad set of Trump's financial records. (Reuters / NPR / Washington Post / New York Times / Politico)

2/ Trump asked the Supreme Court to block Mazars USA from turning over eight years of his tax returns to Manhattan prosecutors, who are investigating hush-money payments to Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal. Trump has argued he has "temporary presidential immunity" not just from prosecution, but also from investigation while in office. (New York Times / Wall Street Journal / Washington Post)

• ???? Day 1019: Trump's accounting firm must turn over eight years of his personal and corporate tax returns to Manhattan prosecutors. A three-judge panel of the Second Circuit Court Appeals unanimously ruled that Trump is not immune from investigative steps taken by state prosecutors. Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance subpoenaed the documents from Mazars USA as part of an investigation into the pre-election payoffs to Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal. Trump then sued the DA's office to block the subpoena, arguing that as president he is immune not only from prosecution but from investigations. A district judge dismissed the argument in October, which Trump then appealed. Today, the appeals court said because Trump's accounting firm – not Trump himself – was subpoenaed for the documents, it didn't matter whether presidents have immunity. Trump's lawyer, Jay Sekulow, said Trump would ask the Supreme Court to overturn the ruling. (New York Times / Washington Post / Politico / CNN / NBC News