NY Senate Set to Pass 'Double Jeopardy' Bill; Assembly May Follow
State Sen. Todd Kaminsky, D-Nassau, said Democrats in his chamber will bring the bill to the floor Wednesday and that it's expected to pass with support from a majority of his colleagues.
May 07, 2019 at 02:36 PM
5 minute read
Democrats in the New York State Senate are expected this week to approve two bills that would allow state prosecutors to bring charges against individuals who receive a presidential pardon and could allow members of the U.S. Congress to see President Donald Trump's state tax returns.
The sponsor of the first proposal in the state Assembly said Wednesday that lawmakers there may not be far behind on approving that bill themselves. The future of the measure geared at Trump's taxes is less clear in the lower house.
Both bills have gained momentum in recent weeks as Democrats in New York shift from discussions around the state budget, which was approved at the end of March, to what they can accomplish before they're scheduled to leave Albany for the year in June.
The legislation will only be considered Wednesday by the State Senate, where members have coalesced around the proposals. The State Assembly, which is also controlled by Democrats, has been more cautious to bring the bills to the floor for a vote.
The first bill, which has been considered by lawmakers for about a year now, will change a section of state law that precludes state prosecutors, including the Attorney General's Office, from bringing charges against someone pardoned of federal crimes based on the same set of facts. That's commonly referred to as the “double jeopardy loophole” in New York.
State Sen. Todd Kaminsky, D-Nassau, has sponsored the bill since it was first proposed last year. He said the final report released in March by Special Counsel Robert Mueller III on his investigation into alleged Russian involvement in the 2016 election added new urgency to the bill.
“Special Counsel Robert Mueller's report provided disturbing, new evidence of the president's plan to improperly use the pardon power to help his associates and undermine the rule of law,” Kaminsky said. “I am pleased the Senate will take up my legislation to close the double jeopardy loophole and crack down on corruption.”
The bill has stalled in the Assembly, where Democrats have expressed concerns about the pointed language of the legislation. It's written in a way that would only allow state charges to be brought against a pardoned individual with direct ties to Trump, either through his family, their work on his campaign, or their work in the White House.
But that could change in the coming weeks, according to Assemblyman Joseph Lentol, a Democrat from Brooklyn who sponsors the bill in the Assembly.
Lentol said Tuesday that New York Attorney General Letitia James has been working to assuage the concerns of members who haven't yet pledged to support the bill. James, along with her predecessors, have been directly involved in negotiations on the legislation.
“I think [James] has been around, doing her due diligence with many of the members, speaking to them about the bill, and talking to them about the bill and how it's been drafted in a way to try to cure the objections from last year,” Lentol said. “My guess is that we have the votes to pass it and we'll probably do it within the next couple of weeks.”
Lentol said Democrats will have to meet again to discuss the legislation before it comes to the floor for a vote, and that it may continue to stall if members still have issues with the bill. At that point, they could seek to amend the legislation a second time to address those concerns if the Senate and James agree to the changes.
Kaminsky urged lawmakers in the Assembly on Tuesday to continue working on the bill and send it to the floor for a final vote sooner rather than later.
“No one—not even the president and his inner circle—is above the law, and I urge the Assembly to pass this vital piece of legislation in an expeditious fashion—justice demands no less,” Kaminsky said.
The second bill, sponsored by State Sen. Brad Hoylman, D-Manhattan, would create a mechanism for members of Congress to request copies of Trump's state tax returns from the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance. The legislation would not allow members of Congress to obtain Trump's federal tax documents.
U.S. House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal, D-Massachusetts; U.S. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa; and Neal in his role as chairman of the Joint Committee on Taxation would be able to request Trump's state tax returns from the agency as long as they've already tried to obtain his federal filings from the U.S. Treasury Department.
As of Monday, that requirement was satisfied. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin wrote in a letter to Neal that the Treasury Department would not be releasing Trump's tax documents to Congress.
The bill would not mandate the state Tax Department to hand over the president's tax returns when requested; that would be at the discretion of the agency's commissioner. They wouldn't be made public as part of the exchange, according to the legislation, and could only be requested for a legitimate, legislative purpose.
The measure is not expected to be taken up this week in the Assembly, where it's sponsored by Assemblyman David Buchwald, D-Westchester. Lawmakers there will have about a month and a half to consider the legislation in the lower chamber before they're scheduled to leave Albany for the year in June.
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 AllTrump Picks Personal Criminal Defense Lawyers for Solicitor General, Deputy Attorney General
SEC Under Trump 2.0 Likely to Take More 'Measured' Enforcement Approach, Observers Say
Decision of the Day: Attorney in Social Security Case Awarded Fees, But Must Pay Client Refund Under Equal Access to Justice Act
Trending Stories
- 1What Are Forbidden Sexual Relations With Clients?
- 2AEDI Takeaways: Demystifying Hype, Changing Caselaw & Harvey’s CEO Talks State of Industry
- 3New England Law | Boston Announces New Dean
- 4Nordic Capital Plans to Acquire IP Management Solutions Provider Anaqua
- 5Criminalization of Homelessness Is Not the Solution
Who Got The Work
Michael G. Bongiorno, Andrew Scott Dulberg and Elizabeth E. Driscoll from Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr have stepped in to represent Symbotic Inc., an A.I.-enabled technology platform that focuses on increasing supply chain efficiency, and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The case, filed Oct. 2 in Massachusetts District Court by the Brown Law Firm on behalf of Stephen Austen, accuses certain officers and directors of misleading investors in regard to Symbotic's potential for margin growth by failing to disclose that the company was not equipped to timely deploy its systems or manage expenses through project delays. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton, is 1:24-cv-12522, Austen v. Cohen et al.
Who Got The Work
Edmund Polubinski and Marie Killmond of Davis Polk & Wardwell have entered appearances for data platform software development company MongoDB and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The action, filed Oct. 7 in New York Southern District Court by the Brown Law Firm, accuses the company's directors and/or officers of falsely expressing confidence in the company’s restructuring of its sales incentive plan and downplaying the severity of decreases in its upfront commitments. The case is 1:24-cv-07594, Roy v. Ittycheria et al.
Who Got The Work
Amy O. Bruchs and Kurt F. Ellison of Michael Best & Friedrich have entered appearances for Epic Systems Corp. in a pending employment discrimination lawsuit. The suit was filed Sept. 7 in Wisconsin Western District Court by Levine Eisberner LLC and Siri & Glimstad on behalf of a project manager who claims that he was wrongfully terminated after applying for a religious exemption to the defendant's COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The case, assigned to U.S. Magistrate Judge Anita Marie Boor, is 3:24-cv-00630, Secker, Nathan v. Epic Systems Corporation.
Who Got The Work
David X. Sullivan, Thomas J. Finn and Gregory A. Hall from McCarter & English have entered appearances for Sunrun Installation Services in a pending civil rights lawsuit. The complaint was filed Sept. 4 in Connecticut District Court by attorney Robert M. Berke on behalf of former employee George Edward Steins, who was arrested and charged with employing an unregistered home improvement salesperson. The complaint alleges that had Sunrun informed the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection that the plaintiff's employment had ended in 2017 and that he no longer held Sunrun's home improvement contractor license, he would not have been hit with charges, which were dismissed in May 2024. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer, is 3:24-cv-01423, Steins v. Sunrun, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Greenberg Traurig shareholder Joshua L. Raskin has entered an appearance for boohoo.com UK Ltd. in a pending patent infringement lawsuit. The suit, filed Sept. 3 in Texas Eastern District Court by Rozier Hardt McDonough on behalf of Alto Dynamics, asserts five patents related to an online shopping platform. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap, is 2:24-cv-00719, Alto Dynamics, LLC v. boohoo.com UK Limited.
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