Oral argument is underway before the 2nd Circuit in Trump v. Vance & you can listen in on @cspan. Trump argues he cannot be investigated or prosecuted while President, so country DA in NY cannot use a grand jury to obtain evidence including his taxes.
@cspan A Judge is now asking Trump lawyers why, even assuming the President is immune from indictment, he should be immune from investigation. "This is just a grand jury subpoena."
@cspan Judge is now questioning about the opinion in the Nixon tapes case. The position Trump takes is directly in contradiction to that ruling of the Supreme Court that Nixon had to hand over tapes from the oval office.
@cspan Trump's lawyer says "the president is still subject to impeachment."
@cspan Questioning from a different judge: Why can't we deal with the case in a narrow way...the only question...is whether a state may lawfully demand production by a 3rd party of the president's financial records for use by a GJ while the president is in office.
@cspan Trump's counsel told DA Vance that he would never produce his client's tax returns.
@cspan DA Vance's lawyer says they would commit to keep anything they received confidential & would be unable to turn tax records over to Congress because of grand jury secrecy rules.
@cspan DA: Trump's claims "aren't ripe" at this point under the Nixon & Sirica cases & the grand jury is entitled to investigate. Trump can file a notice that would permit him to testify before the GJ if he wanted to & file motions to enjoin prosecution if an indictment was forthcoming.
@cspan The Court is now asking DA's counsel to discuss differences between the arguments DOJ made in its amicus brief & Trump's argument. Counsel argues DOJ's position means there is no absolute immunity from investigation for a president.
@cspan Judge: "This case seems bound for the Supreme Court." Counsel for DA: "Both parties see that as an inevitability."
@cspan Trump's lawyer: This case is an effort to harass the president over disagreements regarding policy. Expressing concern local authorities will overwhelm a president with meritless prosecutions.
@cspan Trump's lawyer is struggling because his position is weak: subpoena to sitting POTUS is covered by immunity, it's not about taxes it's about subpoena, says it highlights impropriety & no reason to believe 10 years of tax records are relevant. None of this adds up to anything.
