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Trump tax returns must be given to prosecutor, judge rules | Trump tax returns must be given to prosecutor, judge rules |
(about 1 hour later) | |
A judge has ordered US President Donald Trump to hand over eight years of his tax returns to a New York state criminal investigation. | A judge has ordered US President Donald Trump to hand over eight years of his tax returns to a New York state criminal investigation. |
The judge rejected arguments by the president's lawyers that total immunity protects him while in office. | The judge rejected arguments by the president's lawyers that total immunity protects him while in office. |
Mr Trump is the only presidential candidate since the 1960s apart from Gerald Ford not to release tax returns. | Mr Trump is the only presidential candidate since the 1960s apart from Gerald Ford not to release tax returns. |
The ruling helps an investigation into hush money paid to two women who claim they had affairs with Mr Trump. | The ruling helps an investigation into hush money paid to two women who claim they had affairs with Mr Trump. |
In his 75-page decision on Monday, Judge Victor Marrero said he could not allow a "categorical and limitless assertion of presidential immunity from judicial process". | In his 75-page decision on Monday, Judge Victor Marrero said he could not allow a "categorical and limitless assertion of presidential immunity from judicial process". |
"The only thing truly absolute about presidential immunity from criminal process is the Constitution's silence about the existence and contours of such an exemption," he wrote. | |
Judge Marrero concluded that the president's argument, at its core, was "repugnant to the nation's governmental structure and constitutional values". | Judge Marrero concluded that the president's argument, at its core, was "repugnant to the nation's governmental structure and constitutional values". |
Mr Trump's lawyers immediately filed an emergency appeal with a higher court. | Mr Trump's lawyers immediately filed an emergency appeal with a higher court. |
The president tweeted about the ruling on Monday, claiming that Democrats were "pushing local New York City and State Democrat prosecutors to go get President Trump". | |
What's the background? | |
The investigation concerns hush money payments made by Mr Trump's former lawyer Michael Cohen to two women - adult film star Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal - who allege affairs with Mr Trump, which he denies. | |
Manhattan district attorney Cyrus Vance Jr is looking into whether Mr Trump's organisation broke any election campaign laws by reimbursing Mr Cohen for the payments. | |
If Judge Marrero's ruling is not overturned, Mr Vance can enforce an earlier legal demand he issued to Mr Trump's accountants for the tax returns. | |
Mr Vance has said that currently, the president "has not been identified as a defendant nor is there an assumption he will be", according to the Washington Post. | |
The hush money payments were not reported to the Federal Election Commission during the campaign. | |
The question is whether the payments were made to protect Mr Trump's personal reputation or to protect his image as a presidential candidate. | |
Under US election rules, any payments made with the aim of influencing a vote must be reported. | |
Mr Cohen this year pleaded guilty to violating laws during the 2016 election over his handling of the hush money, and is currently serving a three-year federal prison sentence for the finance violation and other crimes. | |
But Mr Trump has insisted the payment was legal and did not come from campaign finances. He has also accused his former fixer of making up stories to receive a lighter sentence. | |
The Republican president's lawyers have criticised the investigation as politically motivated. | |
Democratic President Bill Clinton appointed Judge Marrero in 1999. |