Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
4 Sue to Block California Tax Return Law Aimed at Trump
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 6 years ago on
August 6, 2019

Share

SACRAMENTO — Four California voters have sued to block a new state law aimed at forcing Republican President Donald Trump to release his income tax returns.
Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a law last week that requires presidential candidates to file five years of their income tax returns with the California secretary of state. Candidates who don’t comply will not appear on the March 3 presidential primary ballot.

“This is a nonpartisan concern about the state running roughshod and attempting to amend the Constitution on its own.”  Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton
The conservative group Judicial Watch announced Monday it had filed a lawsuit last week to challenge the law. The four plaintiffs are two Republicans, one Democrat and one independent.
“This is a nonpartisan concern about the state running roughshod and attempting to amend the Constitution on its own,” Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton said.
The Constitution requires three things of presidents: They have to be born in the U.S., must be at least 35, and must have lived in the country for at least 14 years.
Attorneys for Judicial Watch argue California’s law effectively alters the Constitution by adding a new requirement for tax returns, something they say state governments don’t have the authority to do.

Rationale Could Lead States to Demand Other Things

California’s law says voters need to know details about presidential candidates’ finances to “better estimate the risks of any given Presidential candidate engaging in corruption.”
But Judicial Watch argues that rationale could lead states to demand things like medical and mental health records and eventually things like Amazon purchases, Google search histories and Facebook friends.
The organization also argues that by limiting the law to primary elections, it does not apply to independent candidates. Judicial Watch also says the law violates voters’ constitutional rights to associate with presidential candidates and the voters who support them, rights it says are guaranteed under the First and 14th amendments.
The lawsuit names Secretary of State Alex Padilla as the defendant because his office is in charge of enforcing the law. Representatives for Padilla and Newsom declined to comment on Monday, saying they have not been officially notified of the lawsuit.
Speaking with reporters outside of an unrelated event at the governor’s office, California Attorney General Xavier Becerra said: “We’ll be ready to do what we need to do defend California’s laws.”

 

Nixon Released Tax Returns While Being Audited

When he signed the law last week, Newsom released statements from three lawyers, including the dean of the University of California, Berkeley law school, saying the law is constitutional.

“If the federal government is not going to act, California needs to act. We’ve always done that.”Gov. Gavin Newsom
Newsom contends Congress has changed aspects of the presidency previously, including limiting presidents to two terms after President Franklin Roosevelt was elected to four terms, and passing anti-nepotism laws after President John F. Kennedy appointed his brother, Robert, U.S. attorney general.
“If the federal government is not going to act, California needs to act. We’ve always done that,” Newsom said in a video posted to his Twitter account.
Citizens have had to pay federal income taxes since 1913, but it wasn’t until 1973 when a U.S. president made his personal tax returns public. Republican Richard Nixon released his tax returns publicly while he was being audited by the IRS.
Ever since, U.S. presidents have released at least a summary of their personal income taxes. That includes most major candidates for president, with some exceptions. Former California Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown did not release his tax returns when he ran for president in 1992.
Trump has refused to release his tax returns, saying they are being audited by the IRS.

DON'T MISS

Measles Spreads to Central Texas; 5 States Have Active Outbreaks

DON'T MISS

Trump Tariff Fears Erase $2 Trillion From US Stocks

DON'T MISS

Startup Offers Controversial Microplastic Blood Cleansing Treatment

DON'T MISS

Senate Confirms Mehmet Oz to Take Lead of Medicare and Medicaid Agency

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Pence Will Receive the Profile in Courage Award From the JFK Library for His Actions on Jan. 6

DON'T MISS

Politics Turns Ugly for a Conservative Running for Fresno State Student Body President

DON'T MISS

Pentagon’s Watchdog to Review Hegseth’s Use of Signal App to Convey Plans for Houthi Strike

DON'T MISS

President Trump’s Tariffs Could Be the Political Tipping Point

DON'T MISS

Order That Kept Water in the Kern River Reversed by 5th District Court of Appeal

UP NEXT

Startup Offers Controversial Microplastic Blood Cleansing Treatment

UP NEXT

Pence Will Receive the Profile in Courage Award From the JFK Library for His Actions on Jan. 6

UP NEXT

No More Calling ‘Shotgun?’ CA Could Ban Teens From Riding in Front Seat

UP NEXT

Diehard Baseball Fans in Sacramento Welcome Athletics and Hope They Stay Awhile

UP NEXT

Flores Homers, Matos and Wade Also Go Deep to Help Giants Cap Sweep of Astros

UP NEXT

California’s Schools Chief Has a $200,000 Salary and a Side Gig

UP NEXT

Trump Proposes Tax Deduction for Auto Loan Interest on US-Made Cars

UP NEXT

Western US Sees Sharp Increase in Extreme Weather Impact

UP NEXT

7-Year-Old Girl Was Killed by a Falling Boulder at a Lake Tahoe Ski Resort

UP NEXT

Xavier Becerra Enters 2026 California Governor’s Race

Senate Confirms Mehmet Oz to Take Lead of Medicare and Medicaid Agency

2 hours ago

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

3 hours ago

Pence Will Receive the Profile in Courage Award From the JFK Library for His Actions on Jan. 6

4 hours ago

Politics Turns Ugly for a Conservative Running for Fresno State Student Body President

4 hours ago

Pentagon’s Watchdog to Review Hegseth’s Use of Signal App to Convey Plans for Houthi Strike

4 hours ago

President Trump’s Tariffs Could Be the Political Tipping Point

5 hours ago

Order That Kept Water in the Kern River Reversed by 5th District Court of Appeal

5 hours ago

As Dem Candidates for Governor Increase, They Wait for Harris to Decide

5 hours ago

No More Calling ‘Shotgun?’ CA Could Ban Teens From Riding in Front Seat

5 hours ago

Protests Planned All Over the World Aimed at Donald Trump and Elon Musk

5 hours ago

Measles Spreads to Central Texas; 5 States Have Active Outbreaks

Texas, Oklahoma and New Mexico reported new measles cases this week, with the outbreak expanding for the first time into central Texas. Alre...

21 minutes ago

21 minutes ago

Measles Spreads to Central Texas; 5 States Have Active Outbreaks

28 minutes ago

Trump Tariff Fears Erase $2 Trillion From US Stocks

32 minutes ago

Startup Offers Controversial Microplastic Blood Cleansing Treatment

Dr. Mehmet Oz, President Donald Trump's pick to lead the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, seated right, gives a thumbs-up alongside his wife Lisa Oz, seated left, with friends and family after he testified at his confirmation hearing before the Senate Finance Committee, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Friday, March 14, 2025. (AP/Ben Curtis)
2 hours ago

Senate Confirms Mehmet Oz to Take Lead of Medicare and Medicaid Agency

3 hours ago

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

Vice President Mike Pence hands the electoral certificate from the state of Arizona to Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., as he presides over a joint session of Congress as it convenes to count the Electoral College votes cast in November's election, at the Capitol in Washington, Jan. 6, 2021. (AP File)
4 hours ago

Pence Will Receive the Profile in Courage Award From the JFK Library for His Actions on Jan. 6

4 hours ago

Politics Turns Ugly for a Conservative Running for Fresno State Student Body President

U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth attends a joint news conference with Japan's Defense Minister Gen Nakatani at the Ministry of Defense in Tokyo Sunday, March 30, 2025. (Kiyoshi Ota/Pool Photo via AP)
4 hours ago

Pentagon’s Watchdog to Review Hegseth’s Use of Signal App to Convey Plans for Houthi Strike

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend