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A DC federal judge just heard args on whether Trump can sue NY officials in DC over a NY law that would let House Dems get Trump's tax returns. Trump is also suing the House, but the NY issue came up first. No ruling from the bench, and the judge warned not to expect it asap
Over the two-hour hearing, the judge posed a series of hypotheticals trying to unpack Trump's arg that the court has jurisdiction. NY is arguing the passage + enforcement of the law by NY lawmakers and officials has nothing to do with DC – essentially, that Trump had to sue in NY
Trump's lawyers argued that NY invited the case in DC by passing a law that involves action by the House (in DC) and affects a sitting president (also in DC). They also argue the NY official who would process any request for the tax returns and the NY AG have other contacts w/ DC
House Dems haven't made a request for Trump's returns yet to NY, and NY agreed to delay acting on any such request to give Trump time to contest it before the judge. NY agreed to that based on an understanding that the judge would take up jurisdiction on an expedited basis...
...when the judge wondered, based on args by Trump's counsel, if it would make sense to wait on the NY jurisdiction issue until the House files to dismiss, NY strongly pushed back, saying they agreed to the delay out of good faith. Judge said he intended, as of now, to rule on it
Notably, House GC Douglas Letter said they'll argue for dismissal on grounds the House is immune under the Speech and Debate Clause (this was discussed at an earlier hearing) – if they lose, Letter noted they have an automatic right of appeal. So, this is going to take a while
(I see some Qs about NY making a jurisdiction argument versus a venue argument – their primary argument is Trump's claim against NY should be dismissed outright for lack of jurisdiction. They've also made the venue argument, but it's secondary)
TLDR: The status quo is that House Dems haven't tried to invoke the NY law yet. In response to Trump suing, NY is arguing Trump has to sue state officials in NY. House Dems are going to make a constitutional immunity arg that has a good chance of going up quickly on appeal.
