A federal appeals panel rejected President
The New York-based court, by a 3-0 vote, rejected Trump’s argument that a subpoena issued by
Trump has so far failed in all his courtroom efforts, including in the U.S. Supreme Court, to halt a criminal subpoena for the material from his accountants at
Vance has agreed to hold off enforcing the subpoena for at least 12 days, to allow the president time to seek additional delay from the Supreme Court while it decides whether to hear the appeal. The Supreme Court previously rejected Trump’s claim that he had immunity as president from state grand jury investigations.
Vance’s office declined to comment on the ruling.
Its unclear when Vance’s office would get the records if he prevails, or if it would be before the Nov. 3 election. The material would be covered by laws protecting grand jury secrecy, limiting the ability of Vance’s office to make it public.
The appeals court ruled against Trump’s claim that the subpoena is overbroad, rejecting his argument that the district attorney’s investigation is focused on hush-money payments made by
‘Implausible Speculation’
The court said the “bare assertion” that the scope of the grand jury probe is limited to payments made by Cohen for Trump is “nothing more than implausible speculation.”
The court also rejected Trump’s claim that the subpoena was issued “out of malice or an intent to harass.”
Vance has avoided disclosing the scope of the grand jury investigation that is being overseen by his office. But in
In a separate probe, New York state is
The appeals court ruling comes after the New York Times last month published an analysis of at least two decades of Trump’s closely-guarded tax records, reporting that he paid just $750 in federal income tax in 2016 and in 2017. The Times said Trump reported huge business losses, effectively wiping out all income taxes in 10 of the previous 15 years as well.
The case is Trump v. Vance, 20-02766, Second U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals (Manhattan).
(Updates with details about scope of investigations.)
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Steve Stroth, Anthony Lin
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