A federal appeals court granted President Donald Trump an order delaying enforcement of the Manhattan district attorney’s subpoena for his tax returns while it considers his latest legal challenge but may rule quickly in the matter.
A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals in New York on Tuesday granted Trump’s request for a stay, setting arguments in the case for Sept. 25. The sped-up appeals process means a decision in the case may come before the presidential election in November, though grand jury secrecy laws will likely prevent the information from becoming public before then, even if Trump loses.
Trump’s lawyers have said they will seek review from the U.S. Supreme Court if they lose in the Manhattan-based Second Circuit.
“We are pleased that the Second Circuit granted the stay of the enforcement of the subpoena. We look forward to arguing the merits on Appeal” Jay Sekulow, the president’s lawyer said in a statement.
U.S. District Judge Victor Marrero last month rejected Trump’s claims that the subpoena, to his accountants at Mazars USA, was issued in bad faith and is overbroad. Vance is seeking eight years of the president’s taxes and other financial records as part of a grand jury investigation that includes payments made to porn star Stormy Daniels before the 2016 election.
The Supreme Court in July
The appeals court is separately considering how to move forward on Trump’s attempt to block subpoenas by two Congressional committees seeking his financial records from Deutsche Bank AG. The U.S. Supreme Court in July sent that case back to the New York-based appeals court, all but guaranteeing it won’t be resolved until after the election.
The case is Trump v. Vance, 20-02766, Second U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals (Manhattan).
— With assistance from Jordan Fabian
