Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. Photo: Rick Kopstein/ALM

Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. has agreed to delay enforcement of a grand jury subpoena seeking President Donald Trump's tax returns in exchange for the president's attorneys agreeing to an expedited timeline that would ensure any appeal makes it to the U.S. Supreme Court this term.

Such an expedited timeline would make it likely that any final decision from the high court is made before the 2020 presidential elections. Some observers of the case have surmised that the Trump team has been seeking to draw out the challenges so that any final decisions and any disclosure of financial information would come after the election next November, when its political effect would be neutralized.

In a letter signed by Vance's general counsel Carey Dunne and co-signed by William Consovoy of Consovoy McCarthy and lawyers for Mazars USA, Trump's accounting firm, Vance's lawyers wrote that Vance would not enforce the subpoena from the end of oral arguments Wednesday until 10 calendar days after the court issues its panel opinion.

Any petition for certiorari must be filed in that time period, Dunne wrote, and if Trump petitions for certiorari, he must request that the Supreme Court hear the case in the current term. Dunne laid out a tight deadline for responses to that petition, writing that any opposition must be filed within seven calendar days and any replies must be filed three days after that.

In the event of a petition, Vance will further delay enforcement of the subpoena until the Supreme Court denies certiorari or issues an opinion, whichever is sooner, Dunne wrote.

Arguments are set to be heard at 10 a.m. Wednesday by Chief Judge Robert Katzmann, Senior Judge Christopher Droney and Judge Denny Chin of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.

A stay had been set to expire Wednesday, after oral arguments scheduled before a panel of Second Circuit judges take place.

Trump's legal team asked the court for a stay Friday, when Consovoy filed a motion to extend the current administrative stay.

In a memo supporting that motion, Consovoy set a deadline of 9 a.m. Tuesday for the court to respond. If the court did not respond by Tuesday, Consovoy had said, Trump's lawyers would file a protective motion for a stay pending appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.

In court papers filed Thursday, Consovoy argued that it is traditional for the Supreme Court to review claims of presidential immunity. Vance's lawyers have argued that the case should be dismissed and Trump should have sued in state court.

Read more:

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In Case 2nd Circuit Rules Against Him, Trump Asks for Extended Stay in Tax Return Subpoena Case