Federal judge tosses Trump lawsuit to block income taxes

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A federal judge threw out former President Donald Trump's lawsuit seeking to block a House committee from getting his tax returns. U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden said efforts by Trump's lawyers to block the handover were wrong on the law. "A long line of Supreme Court cases requires great deference to facially valid congressional inquiries. Even the special solicitude accorded former presidents does not alter the outcome," McFadden wrote. McFadden put the ruling on hold for 14 days to give Trump's legal team time to appeal. McFadden on Tuesday rejected Trump's claim that Congress had no legitimate need to see the returns and was simply hoping to find something embarrassing. "Congress may not expose someone simply for the sake of exposure," McFadden said. But he wrote that the committee's desire to see how the IRS audits presidential returns could lead Congress to conclude that the authority needed to be enhanced. Despite obviously political comments by other members of Congress, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., about a general desire to see Trump's taxes, "the committee need only state a valid legislative purpose," McFadden said, adding, "It has done so." McFadden, who was appointed to the bench by Trump, concluded by saying Congress can accomplish its objectives without making the returns public. "It might not be right or wise to publish the returns, but it is the chairman's right to do so," wrote McFadden, who also warned that "publishing the confidential tax information of a political rival is the type of move that will return to plague the inventor."