Judge Carl Nichols Is Assigned to Trump's Bid to Keep NY Tax Returns Secret
The former WilmerHale partner and clerk to Justice Clarence Thomas was assigned Friday to Trump's new lawsuit. Nichols was confirmed to the bench in May.
July 26, 2019 at 09:22 AM
5 minute read
U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols in Washington, the most recent trial judge confirmed to the bench, was assigned Friday to preside over President Donald Trump's bid to prevent a U.S. House committee from obtaining his New York state tax returns.
The assignment came less than 24 hours after U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden spurned the president's attempt to put the case in his court. McFadden is presiding over a case the House filed against the Treasury Department and IRS, and Trump's lawyers had designated the new lawsuit as “related” to the pending one.
Nichols, like McFadden, was appointed by Trump to the federal trial court. A former Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr regulatory partner, Nichols was confirmed in May. The former clerk to Justice Clarence Thomas, during the 1997-1998 term, was earlier a leading U.S. Justice Department appellate lawyer before joining WilmerHale.
This week, Trump's lawyers at Consovoy McCarthy had urged McFadden to quickly block the House Ways and Means Committee from obtaining copies of the president's New York state tax returns under a new law that permits state authorities to share the tax filings of top government officials on a request from a U.S. congressional committee.
At a hearing Thursday, McFadden said the two tax-returns suits were not “related” and Trump's new case would be reassigned randomly to another judge. McFadden, quoting language from an unrelated 2000 case, said he was mindful of trying “to avoid the appearance of judge-shopping or favoritism in assignments and to assure that cases were assigned on an impartial and neutral basis.”
New York state lawmakers said at the time the law was passed, just a few weeks ago, that the move would allow greater cooperation between state and federal officials. Trump, despite vowing for months on the campaign trial that he would release his tax returns, has refused to do so. Trump was the first presidential candidate in modern times not to release tax returns.
Trump's lawyer William Consovoy argued that the House Ways and Means Committee, acting under the New York state law, called the Trust Act, could request Trump's tax returns “at any time, with no notice to the president. And New York could respond to the request nearly instantaneously, mooting the president's ability to object before his tax records are disclosed.”
Consovoy claimed Congress has no legitimate legislative interest in the president's tax records. He also challenged the constitutionality of the Trust Act, arguing it was enacted this month to “discriminate and retaliate against President Trump for his speech and politics,” in violation of the First Amendment.
House lawyers contend that the committee's consideration of seeking Trump's state tax returns is “immune from challenge through the court system.” The House Democrats have not yet formally requested the state tax returns from New York.
“Mr. Trump's complaint and his emergency application brazenly request that this Court violate the separation of powers and enjoin the Ways and Means Committee from even embarking on legislative activity squarely within its Article I powers,” Douglas Letter, the House general counsel, said in a court filing.
Trump's lawsuit initially landed in McFadden's court because he is presiding over a separate case in which the House has sued the Treasury Department and IRS for copies of the president's federal tax returns. In that case, the IRS has refused to comply with a House Ways and Means subpoena seeking federal returns between 2013 and 2018. Federal law requires the IRS to furnish—on request by the Ways and Means Committee—the tax returns of any private citizen.
The lawsuits related to Trump's tax returns are among several in Washington and New York courts that seek financial records tied to the president. Trump's attorneys lost two bids recently to block House committee subpoenas seeking records from Mazars USA, the president's longtime accounting firm, and from his primary lender, Deutsche Bank.
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View AllDOJ's Visa Antitrust Suit Hands Class Action Lawyers New Line of Attack Against Payments Giant
Visa Hires Antitrust Heavyweights to Carry Out DOJ-Misunderstands-the-Market Defense
Covington, Steptoe Form New Groups Amid Demand in Regulatory, Enforcement Space
4 minute readDOJ Files Antitrust Suit Against Visa Alleging It Thwarts Payment-Processing Rivals
Trending Stories
Who Got The Work
Dechert partners Andrew J. Levander, Angela M. Liu and Neil A. Steiner have stepped in to defend Arbor Realty Trust and certain executives in a pending securities class action. The complaint, filed July 31 in New York Eastern District Court by Levi & Korsinsky, contends that the defendants concealed a 'toxic' mobile home portfolio, vastly overstated collateral in regards to the company's loans and failed to disclose an investigation of the company by the FBI. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Pamela K. Chen, is 1:24-cv-05347, Martin v. Arbor Realty Trust, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Arthur G. Jakoby, Ryan Feeney and Maxim M.L. Nowak from Herrick Feinstein have stepped in to defend Charles Dilluvio and Seacor Capital in a pending securities lawsuit. The complaint, filed Sept. 30 in New York Southern District Court by the Securities and Exchange Commission, accuses the defendants of using consulting agreements, attorney opinion letters and other mechanisms to skirt regulations limiting stock sales by affiliate companies and allowing the defendants to unlawfully profit from sales of Enzolytics stock. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Andrew L. Carter Jr., is 1:24-cv-07362, Securities and Exchange Commission v. Zhabilov et al.
Who Got The Work
Clark Hill members Vincent Roskovensky and Kevin B. Watson have entered appearances for Architectural Steel and Associated Products in a pending environmental lawsuit. The complaint, filed Aug. 27 in Pennsylvania Eastern District Court by Brodsky & Smith on behalf of Hung Trinh, accuses the defendant of discharging polluted stormwater from its steel facility without a permit in violation of the Clean Water Act. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Gerald J. Pappert, is 2:24-cv-04490, Trinh v. Architectural Steel And Associated Products, Inc.
Who Got The Work
Michael R. Yellin of Cole Schotz has entered an appearance for S2 d/b/a the Shoe Surgeon, Dominic Chambrone a/k/a Dominic Ciambrone and other defendants in a pending trademark infringement lawsuit. The case, filed July 15 in New York Southern District Court by DLA Piper on behalf of Nike, seeks to enjoin Ciambrone and the other defendants in their attempts to build an 'entire multifaceted' retail empire through their unauthorized use of Nike’s trademark rights. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald, is 1:24-cv-05307, Nike Inc. v. S2, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Sullivan & Cromwell partner Adam S. Paris has entered an appearance for Orthofix Medical in a pending securities class action arising from a proposed acquisition of SeaSpine by Orthofix. The suit, filed Sept. 6 in California Southern District Court, by Girard Sharp and the Hall Firm, contends that the offering materials and related oral communications contained untrue statements of material fact. According to the complaint, the defendants made a series of misrepresentations about Orthofix’s disclosure controls and internal controls over financial reporting and ethical compliance. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Linda Lopez, is 3:24-cv-01593, O'Hara v. Orthofix Medical Inc. et al.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250