Judge rules against Trump in tax records subpoena fight

 https://edition.cnn.com/2020/08/20/politics/donald-trump-new-york-tax-records/index.html

 A federal judge on Thursday said New York state prosecutors could have access to President Donald Trump's accounting records for a criminal investigation, siding harshly against the President.

The ruling by US District Judge Victor Marrero follows a landmark Supreme Court decision this summer that appeared to set up potentially lengthy delays on subpoenas for Trump's records. Yet the ruling on Thursday snaps attention back to the ongoing criminal probe of Trump's business dealings, and revives the possibility that Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance could reach the records before the presidential election.

"Justice requires an end to this controversy," Marrero wrote.

Trump has already appealed. He's asking the Second Circuit Court of Appeals for emergency help as he tries to stop the subpoena from being enforced next week.

 

But Marrero rejected Trump's attempt to use the court system for more delays. He built into his ruling a prohibition for Trump to revise his lawsuit as a way to keep it alive even if he's lost additional rounds in court.

Trump's legal strategy to "enable the clock to run," Marrero wrote, "amounts to absolute immunity through a back door, an entry point through which not only a President but also potentially other persons and entities, public and private, could effectively gain cover from judicial process."