Trump’s Attempt To Hide Financial Records Goes To Court Run By Merrick Garland
President Trump’s legal efforts to keep his financial records sealed will go to the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals — where the chief judge is Merrick Garland, HuffPost explained Monday.
A federal judge ruled on Monday in favor of the House Oversight and Reform Committee’s subpoena of president’s records from an accounting firm, Politico reported. Trump attorney Jay Sekulow promised they would appeal – leaving the case in a court system run by Garland.
Garland was President Obama’s nominee for Supreme Court justice in 2016, after Justice Antonin Scalia’s sudden death, but Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell never gave him a vote, citing the upcoming presidential election. Trump won and nominated Neil Gorsuch, who now sits on the bench.
It’s possible Garland won’t hear the appeal, as cases are heard by three randomly assigned judges, according to HuffPost. In some cases, though, the full court could still be called on.
The news was greeted with humor on Twitter:
When Republicans thought they had seen the last of Merrick Garland but he heads up the court that’s hearing Trump’s tax appeal. pic.twitter.com/vcHwKgmLYK
— Adam Best (@adamcbest) May 21, 2019
I wish I could say revenge is a dish best served cold, but Merrick Garland is a consummate legal professional who I’m sure will do everything possible to avoid the appearance of any bias.
Which, you know, would have been a great reason to have him on the Supreme Court. https://t.co/o9M0mLkh0K
— Zev Karlin-Neumann (@zkarlinn) May 21, 2019
Alyssa Fisher is a writer at the Forward. Email her at [email protected], or follow her on Twitter at @alyssalfisher
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.
In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.
At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.
Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we still need 300 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Only 300 more gifts needed by April 30