On Thursday, a court in the Southern District of New York (SDNY) heard arguments in the case against Donald Trump for campaign funding violations that requires turning over his tax returns and business records.
Law professor Jennifer Taub, who was present at the court hearing, live-tweeted the full proceedings. For her full set of tweets, click here.
William Consovoy, one of the lawyers representing Trump, argued that the subpoena for Trump’s tax and business records is “too broad” and that it was based on a list compiled by Congress and not the district attorney’s office, who is in charge of the current investigation. According to The Daily Beast:
‘He said Trump “is still reviewing the subpoena” and his team has not yet decided what arguments they plan to raise in an amended complaint against Vance’s request. Calling the legal action a “fishing expedition,” Consovoy argued Trump was “a target for political reasons.”’
US District Court Judge Victor Marrero was right to show impatience with Trump’s lawyers as they recycled the stale arguments SCOTUS had just rejected 7-2 on July 9. He should heed Vance’s plea that justice pointlessly delayed is justice unfairly denied. https://t.co/DuWQ58yilI
— Laurence Tribe (@tribelaw) July 16, 2020
Since Trump’s lawyers offered nothing new to argue against the release of the documents, lawyers for the SDNY argued that the president’s legal team is just trying to delay the case and requested sticking to the schedule previously agreed upon. The judge agreed conditional on whether the president can list a new reason to delay the documents.
‘What the president’s lawyer is seeking here is delay. This lawsuit has delayed our collection of evidence. We accept that the president has the right to articulate any new claims, except constitutional immunity. But there’s no special heightened standard. It’s like he’s a CEO.’
The judge agreed with prosecutors, saying that it is now time to move forward after the Supreme Court’s ruling that Trump is not immune as president to being pursued in criminal court.
‘While the federal judge made no rulings on Thursday, he endorsed the schedule the two legal parties had previously agreed on. The president will make whatever arguments he wants about the subpoena in a hearing later this month.
‘“Our office’s position, your honor, is, ‘bring it on,’” Dunne said Thursday.’
Featured image screenshot via YouTube
