ALBANY, N.Y. _ Congressional Democrats could have a new path to getting their hands on President Donald Trump's tax returns.
Democrats in New York's state Senate voted Wednesday to approve a bill authorizing the Department of Taxation and Finance to share state tax return information with congressional committees as long as there is a "specific and legitimate legislative purpose."
The bill, which would amend state laws prohibiting the release of private tax information, does not mention the president by name and would only apply to Trump's state tax returns, not his federal ones, according to its sponsor, state Sen. Brad Hoylman of Manhattan.
Under federal law, Congress should already have access to Trump's federal returns, but Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has refused to release the president's personal and business tax documents.
"We must ensure that Congress can't be blocked in their attempts to hold even the highest elected officials in the land accountable to the American people," Hoylman said.
Though not required to make his tax returns public, Trump is the first president in modern history dating back to fellow Republican Gerald Ford, who released summaries of his taxes, to not disclose his full returns. Trump repeatedly said he was under audit during the 2016 campaign and promised to eventually comply with tradition, but has since refused to do so.
"Donald Trump has broken 40 years of political tradition by not releasing his tax returns," Hoylman said. "Now, his administration is precipitating a constitutional crisis by shielding the president from congressional oversight over those returns. Our system of checks and balances is failing. New York has a special role and responsibility to step into the breach."
The measure, which needs to pass the New York Assembly before being sent to Gov. Andrew Cuomo's desk, would apply to returns filed by all statewide officeholders, including the president and vice president, U.S. senators, the governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general and comptroller.
Cuomo has said he would support the legislation, but only if it also applies to all state lawmakers and statewide elected officials in the state in order to avoid any legal challenges.
Republicans slammed the measure as politically motivated and encouraged their colleagues across the aisle to focus on issues closer to home.
"If you want to push back on the president, if you want to raise hell with the president, go ahead," said Republican state Sen. Frederick Akshar of Broome County. "Run for a House seat. Run for the United States Senate."
Senate Democrats also passed a bill Wednesday allowing state prosecutors to bring charges against relatives or former employees of the president who receive pardons. Currently, state prosecutors cannot bring charges based on the same facts used to convict individuals of federal crimes for which they received pardons, creating a so-called "double jeopardy" loophole.
Democratic state Sen. Todd Kaminsky of Nassau County, a former federal prosecutor, said the bill would cover pardons when there is a "clear conflict of interest" when the defendants is a former or current staff member, appointee or family member.
New York Attorney General Letitia James, who has launched several investigations into the president, his businesses, charities and associates, applauded the passage of the double jeopardy bill.
"This legislation upholds the standards of fairness and justice at the core of the 'double jeopardy' law," she said. "It also embodies a central component to the foundation of our democracy: the president _ unlike a monarch or authoritarian dictator _ is not above the law and our laws should apply to all people of this nation equally, including and especially our leaders."
