Trump mounts challenge against California law requiring candidates to release tax returns
President Trump is taking California to court over a new law requiring presidential candidates to release tax returns in order to get on the primary ballot in the state, CNN reports.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) last week signed a law that requires every presidential candidate whose name appears on a primary ballot to release five years of income tax returns, a step clearly taken in response to Trump, who refused to release his tax returns during the 2016 presidential election. Under the law, the candidate's tax returns would be made publicly available online. Seeing as Trump is facing no serious threat in the Republican primary, it wasn't expected to have much of a tangible effect on his re-election campaign, though.
Trump and his campaign on Tuesday filed a lawsuit with the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California, with the suit arguing that California's law "adds an unconstitutional qualification to the fixed set of qualifications for the presidency in the Constitution" and should be blocked by the court. Named in the lawsuit are California Secretary of State Alex Padilla and California Attorney General Xavier Becerra.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The Republican National Committee also filed a lawsuit against the law on Tuesday, The New York Times reports, with this one referring to the law as a "naked political attack against the sitting president of the United States." Upon signing the bill last week, Newsom said in a statement that "states have a legal and moral duty to do everything in their power to ensure leaders seeking the highest offices meet minimal standards, and to restore public confidence."
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.
-
Parker Palm Springs review: decadence in the California desert
The Week Recommends This over-the-top hotel is a mid-century modern gem
By Catherine Garcia, The Week US Published
-
The real story behind the Stanford Prison Experiment
The Explainer 'Everything you think you know is wrong' about Philip Zimbardo's infamous prison simulation
By Tess Foley-Cox Published
-
Is it safe for refugees to return to Syria?
Talking Point European countries rapidly froze asylum claims after Assad's fall but Syrian refugees may have reason not to rush home
By Richard Windsor, The Week UK Published
-
ABC News to pay $15M in Trump defamation suit
Speed Read The lawsuit stemmed from George Stephanopoulos' on-air assertion that Trump was found liable for raping writer E. Jean Carroll
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Judge blocks Louisiana 10 Commandments law
Speed Read U.S. District Judge John deGravelles ruled that a law ordering schools to display the Ten Commandments in classrooms was unconstitutional
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
ATF finalizes rule to close 'gun show loophole'
Speed Read Biden moves to expand background checks for gun buyers
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Hong Kong passes tough new security law
Speed Read It will allow the government to further suppress all forms of dissent
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
France enshrines abortion rights in constitution
speed read It became the first country to make abortion a constitutional right
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Texas executes man despite contested evidence
Speed Read Texas rejected calls for a rehearing of Ivan Cantu's case amid recanted testimony and allegations of suppressed exculpatory evidence
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Supreme Court wary of state social media regulations
Speed Read A majority of justices appeared skeptical that Texas and Florida were lawfully protecting the free speech rights of users
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Greece legalizes same-sex marriage
Speed Read Greece becomes the first Orthodox Christian country to enshrine marriage equality in law
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published