October 7, 2019

Federal judge says presidents can be indicted

Politico -A federal judge in New York City spiked President Donald Trump’s attempt to block a Manhattan prosecutor from obtaining his tax and financial records from the accounting firm Mazars, dismissing his "extraordinary" claim to be immune from criminal investigation. In a 75-page ruling on Monday, Judge Victor Marrero, also issued a sharp rejection of longstanding Department of Justice opinions that say a president cannot be indicted or criminally prosecuted while in office, calling their conclusions "not warranted" or backed up by the authority of the courts.

Soon after the judge issued his blistering opinion, lawyers for the president filed an emergency motion to appeal the decision, and the Second Circuit Court of Appeals granted it later Monday. The accounting firm was facing a Monday afternoon deadline to turn over tax returns that were the subject of a grand jury subpoena.

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