William Consovoy William Consovoy of Consovoy McCarthy at a meeting of the Federalist Society. Washington, D.C., April 17, 2018. (Photo: Diego M. Radzinschi/ALM)

President Donald Trump’s lawyers are taking another shot at stopping House Democrats from getting his New York state tax returns, with an eye on keeping the fight in a D.C. federal court.

Trump’s attorneys from Consovoy McCarthy highlighted New York officials’ ties to Washington, D.C., in an amended complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on Monday as they seek to block the Democratic-controlled House Ways & Means Committee from obtaining the president’s state tax returns under a recently passed New York law.

District Judge Carl Nichols ruled earlier this month that the president’s lawyers could amend their complaint after New York officials argued that the case should be dismissed because it’s better suited to play out in federal court in their state. Nichols, a Trump appointee from Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr, was confirmed to the bench in May.

District Judge Trevor McFadden spurned the president’s attempt to put the case in his court last month. McFadden is presiding over a case the House filed against the Treasury Department and IRS, and Trump’s lawyers had designated the New York tax lawsuit as “related” to the pending one.

At issue is the newly passed TRUST Act, which allows the chair of the House Ways and Means Committee—as well as other tax-related congressional committees—to request officials’ tax returns from New York tax authorities.

The president’s lawyers have previously argued the law illegally targets Trump and that the Committee “lacks a legitimate legislative purpose” for using the state law.

The amended complaint expands upon the jurisdiction arguments, stating that D.C. “is where the TRUST Act is aimed and where the president’s injury and virtually all of the relevant conduct will occur.”

“For example, the committee will request the president’s tax returns here, New York will send the returns here, the committee will review the returns here, the committee will hold hearings (including testimony from New York officials) about the returns here, the committee will use the returns to draft and consider legislation here, and the committee will decide whether and how to disclose the returns here,” the complaint said.

The complaint adds Andrew Grossman, the chief tax counsel of the House Committee on Ways and Means, as a defendant.

It also amplifies the ties between the existing defendants and D.C. For example, the complaint now notes that Michael Schmidt, commissioner of the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance, lived in the district from 2011 to 2012 while working as a policy analyst for the Treasury Department.

The complaint also says that Schmidt is a Democrat and that he was an economic policy adviser on Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign.

The filing similarly draws a deeper connection between New York Attorney General Letitia James and D.C., pointing to her involvement in several ongoing court cases in the district’s trial court. It also highlights recent appearances she has made in D.C., including an April lecture at Howard University, where James attended law school.

“She has also made substantial campaign expenditures in the District and solicited and received campaign contributions from donors within the District,” the complaint reads.

A spokesperson for the James’ office said last week, when parties in the case asked permission for the president’s lawyers to filed an amended complaint, that they anticipated the new version of the complaint to address those jurisdiction issues. The New York office believed that the jurisdiction arguments made in the initial filing weren’t strong enough to win in court, the spokesperson said at the time.

That spokesperson said Monday that the state attorney general’s office anticipates that their motion to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction will still stand up, despite the new arguments presented by the president’s team.

Trump attorney William Consovoy did not immediately return a request for comment.

Trump’s attorneys are also changing up what they want from the court. They are now seeking an order that will effectively require that the president be notified if Democrats request his state tax returns or if the New York authorities are preparing to provide lawmakers with the documents, and give them an opportunity to intervene in court first.

Whether the state tax returns case will remain in D.C. will be up to Nichols, who is currently being briefed on the jurisdiction issue. The New York defendants are scheduled to file a new motion to dismiss by next Thursday, and a hearing is set for Nichols’ courtroom on Sept. 18.

The Committee on Ways and Means has also filed a federal lawsuit in D.C. seeking to obtain Trump’s federal tax returns. Trump declined to release the documents during his 2016 presidential campaign, bucking decades of precedent.

The president’s lawyers initially asked that the state tax returns case be considered related to the lawsuit over the federal returns. But McFadden, who is overseeing the federal returns case, ruled otherwise, and Nichols was tasked with the lawsuit.

Read the amended complaint:

Read more:

Judge Carl Nichols Is Assigned to Trump’s Bid to Keep NY Tax Returns Secret

Who Is Trevor McFadden? Meet the Judge Assigned the Trump Tax Returns Case

New York Is Barred, for Now, From Handing Over Trump’s State Tax Returns

Trump’s Now Suing on Both Coasts to Keep His Tax Returns Secret