During a press gaggle at the White House for a photo op with Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi, President Trump said that he expects the New York judge’s affirmation that his lawyers must turn over his tax returns will return to the Supreme Court, contrary to what the Supreme Court ruled last month.
“This is just a continuation of the most hideous witch hunt in the history of our country,” Trump claimed.
Saying that the Supreme Court ruled that he doesn’t have to turn over the tax returns if the prosecutor is on a “fishing expedition,” Trump said, “We’ll probably end up in the Supreme Court again.”
In a landmark July decision, the Supreme Court dismissed Trump’s claims of presidential absolute immunity and said that Trump must adhere to laws and orders as any citizen would. The Court, however, left open the opportunity to appeal based on any reason a private citizen would have.
Despite the State District Attorney for Manhattan’s comprehensive subpoena for Trump’s taxes based on public records and other information, Trump claims prosecutors are simply looking for anything that may be a technical illegality: “Maybe they’ll find a spot where a lawyer didn’t dot an i or put a comma in place.”
In fact, the subpoena is based on public testimony from the Michael Cohen money laundering conviction, Congressional testimony and reporting in the New York Times which outlines a comprehensive scheme by the Trump family to avoid paying taxes.