Well, California has joined the effort to try and force President Trump’s hand on his tax returns. It’s one of the many fronts in the Democrats’ war against this White House. Trump didn’t release his tax returns during the 2016 election, citing an ongoing audit. The Golden State now has a law that will prevent a candidates name from appearing on the ballot if they don’t release their returns (via NYT):
President Trump will not be eligible for California’s primary ballot unless he releases his tax returns, under a new law signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom on Tuesday.
The law requires that all presidential candidates release their tax returns in order to be placed on the ballot for the state’s primary next year, in a move that will almost certainly lead to legal challenges. Mr. Newsom’s decision to sign the legislation seemed designed to escalate a running feud between the White House and California.
The state is currently involved in more than 40 lawsuits with the Trump administration on issues ranging from environmental regulation to immigration.
The California State Legislature approved a similar measure in 2017, but Gov. Jerry Brown vetoed it, questioning whether it was constitutional. Mr. Brown, who left office in January, also said it would create a precedent for requiring other information — including medical records or certified birth certificates — from candidates.
And yes, you bet Trump’s lawyers are going to challenge this absurd law (via Politico):
President Donald Trump’s lawyers immediately signaled … they will challenge a California law requiring Trump to disclose his tax returns if he wants to appear on primary ballots in the state.
“The State of California’s attempt to circumvent the Constitution will be answered in court,” Trump attorney Jay Sekulow said in an emailed statement shortly after Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the bill into law.
A challenge seemed all but inevitable given Trump’s legal moves to stymie House Democrats and New York officials who are also seeking the president’s tax returns. Trump campaign official Tim Murtaugh declined to comment on a potential lawsuit but said the California law is unconstitutional.
“The Constitution is clear on the qualifications for someone to serve as president and states cannot add additional requirements on their own,” Murtaugh said in a statement. “The bill also violates the 1st Amendment right of association since California can't tell political parties which candidates their members can or cannot vote for in a primary election.”
Multiple states have pushed measures that aim to keep the president off the ballot if he doesn’t release the returns. House Democrats want the Treasury Department to release six years worth of tax returns, including those related to his businesses. The Trump administration has rightfully stalled these efforts because we all know the game here. This is just part of the long-standing game of Democratic impeachment bingo. House Democrats have filed a lawsuit over this matter, with Obama-appointed judges keeping the legal tide in their favor for now. The subpoenas issued were ordered to be followed, specifically, the one sent to the accounting firm Trump has used to file his taxes.
The Left no longer has the Russian collusion myth that they can pimp out with impunity, even though it was straight trash. That whole narrative was shot dead when ex-Special Counsel Robert Mueller filed his report saying so, which also delivered a kill shot to the Trump dossier, a Clinton-funded piece of political opposition research, which was the impetus for this whole Trump-Russia circus. The Democrats will do anything o defeat Trump. We should do anything to defend him. Period.
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