President Trump can hold onto his tax returns for at least a little longer, a judge ruled Wednesday.
Manhattan federal Judge Victor Marrero blocked the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office from enforcing a subpoena for Trump’s tax returns for at least one more day — as a lawyer for the DA’s office confirmed that Trump himself is a target of their grand jury investigation.
“I would suggest the parties go home, sober up, decompress,” Marrero told lawyers for both sides following heated arguments over whether DA Cy Vance’s office would be allowed to enforce a subpoena already served on Trump’s longtime accounting firm, Mazars USA, demanding eight years of the president’s personal and corporate financial documents — including tax returns. Trump sued last week to stop the DA’s office from getting its hands on the documents.
Wednesday’s arguments followed an eleventh-hour filing by federal prosecutors in Manhattan, also asking the judge to temporarily block the subpoena, which seeks documents dating back to 2011.
Marrero said he would give the US Attorney’s Office until next week to see if it plans to officially join the case, and instructed the parties to reach out to his chambers Thursday relaying if they’d been able to reach any agreement as to whether less contentious documents could be produced for the grand jury.
While the scope of Vance’s grand jury investigation is not publicly known, Vance attorney Solomon Shinerock admitted the documents pertain “both to the president and a variety of third parties and individuals.”
Trump’s lawyers have repeatedly stated that both the president and his companies are immune from this sort of inquiry due to his position.
“Their claims of harassment and bad faith are speculation and unfounded,” said Shinerock. “They have no authority for the breathtaking brand of immunity they seek.”
Shinerock urged the judge not to prolong the litigation, saying his office is racing against the clock due to “the statute of limitations and the degradation of evidence.”
When the judge put this concern to Trump lawyer William Consovoy, he suggested the lawmakers intervene.
“New York Legislature can solve the problem itself by extending the limitation period,” the Trump attorney suggested.
Meanwhile, Consovoy also blasted the DA’s office for the subpoena, which he called a “carbon copy” of a subpoena previously served on Deutsche Bank as part of a congressional investigation, which Trump also challenged.
“It can’t be a coincidence,” Consovoy said.
Vance’s office declined to comment when asked if it would appeal the decision.