On Monday, a federal judge dismissed President Trump's preemptive lawsuit against lawmakers and New York state officials who might try to release his tax returns.
At issue is New York state's new TRUST Act, a law that would let certain congressional lawmakers request the president's state tax returns. Congress has not actually tried to request his tax information under this law. President Trump was suing preemptively to keep lawmakers from requesting his returns under the TRUST Act and to keep New York officials from enforcing it.
Judge Carl Nichols, a Trump appointee, ruled Monday that in this case, the president cannot sue New York state officials in a Washington, D.C., court. He said the president should either wait for Congress to actually make the request or file a new lawsuit in New York, the proper jurisdiction. The president's lawyers had argued D.C. was the right place to sue because New York would send the records to Washington if Congress asked for them.
This is just one of several legal battles President Trump is fighting to ensure his tax returns aren't released. He was the first presidential candidate in four decades to refuse to release his tax information, despite promising to do so. He's said an IRS audit barred him from releasing that information, but the IRS says that's not true.
