NEW YORK _ Manhattan prosecutors got the green light Friday to subpoena President Donald Trump's tax returns following the latest foiled bid from his lawyers to keep them under wraps.
In a nine-page ruling, Manhattan Federal Judge Victor Marrero denied a motion from the president's lawyers seeking to stop a subpoena on eight years of his financial records from taking effect pending appellate review in the Second Circuit Court of Appeals.
Trump's legal team had argued the president would "suffer irreparable harm" should Manhattan DA Cy Vance get a look at the records. They had also argued that "that the balance of the hardships tilts in (Trump's) favor," court documents show.
Judge Marrero disagreed with the framing.
"Because a grand jury is under a legal obligation to keep the confidentiality of its records, the Court finds that no irreparable harm will ensue from the disclosure to it of the President's records sought here," Marrero wrote.
"As the Court explained in its October 7 Order, these cases do not pertain to ongoing criminal investigations, let alone investigations by grand juries who are sworn to secrecy."
The president's lawyer Jay Sekulow said he intends to file a notice of appeal and a request for a stay following Marrero's Friday ruling.
A spokesperson for Vance's office declined to comment.
Judge Marrero's ruling comes just a day after he emphatically upheld a subpoena ordering Trump's accountants to hand over financial records, siding with Vance in his probe of Trump's alleged transgressions pre-Oval Office.
Vance is seeking eight years of Trump's tax returns and other financial records in connection to a grand jury investigation his office has described as large and complex, according to court filings.
