Mnuchin says he won't turn over Trump's tax returns to Congress, citing legal advice from the Justice Department. But neither Treasury nor the Justice Department would furnish the legal opinion, and it appears at this time a formal opinion doesn't exist. https://t.co/8lpxPGkKVD— Damian Paletta (@damianpaletta) May 6, 2019
This is kind of a big deal. And actually, what it indicates is "No, this fight is not going to last very long." If DOJ can't come up with even the whisper of a legal opinion that provides some scintilla of an excuse for Mnuchin's refusal, what are they going to tell a trial court? That Donald Trump is President, and the judge is not?
Without any kind of a legal argument, cases don't really last in court all that long. See, e.g., the matter of the Deutsche Bank/Capital One subpoenas: that will probably be over before the end of the month, and any further proceedings will require a quite extraordinary act on the part of the appellate system to stop those subpoenas from being enforced, even if the case proceeds. Just going to court and shouting "I object!" or "I appeal" is not enough. It's not even how the process works. And aside from a bankruptcy filing, just going to court doesn't stop everything you're suing over until the last appeal is exhausted. Well, it does in death penalty cases, but not in a civil court proceeding where the courts won't issue injunctive relief. (And, as I say, if the courts decide injunctive relief should be granted because Donald Trump is throwing a tantrum, then we have bigger problems than subpoenas and injunctions to worry about.)
Without any kind of a legal argument, cases don't really last in court all that long. See, e.g., the matter of the Deutsche Bank/Capital One subpoenas: that will probably be over before the end of the month, and any further proceedings will require a quite extraordinary act on the part of the appellate system to stop those subpoenas from being enforced, even if the case proceeds. Just going to court and shouting "I object!" or "I appeal" is not enough. It's not even how the process works. And aside from a bankruptcy filing, just going to court doesn't stop everything you're suing over until the last appeal is exhausted. Well, it does in death penalty cases, but not in a civil court proceeding where the courts won't issue injunctive relief. (And, as I say, if the courts decide injunctive relief should be granted because Donald Trump is throwing a tantrum, then we have bigger problems than subpoenas and injunctions to worry about.)
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