Trump loses bid to delay tax transfer to New York prosecutor

NEW YORK (Reuters) – A U.S. judge on Friday denied President Donald Trump’s request to delay the Manhattan District Attorney’s tax return for a criminal investigation into his family’s real estate business, while Trump is appealing.

U.S. District Judge Victor Marrero handed down his decision a day after he rejected Trump’s arguments that the grand jury signing District Attorney Cyrus Vance to get his tax return from the accounting firm Mazars USA “wildly transferred.”

In refusing to say the vote, Marrero said Trump had failed to show his appeal was likely to succeed, or that he would be inexcusably harmed if a stay did not occur.

“Because a grand jury is under a legal obligation to maintain the confidentiality of their records, the court finds that there will be no irreparable damage as a result of the disclosure thereof of the records sought by the President here,” wrote Marrero.

Vance, a Democrat, will not get Trump’s tax return immediately after the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan filed oral arguments before Sept. 1 over the Republican president’s request for a stay.

Lawyers for Trump did not immediately respond to requests for comment. A Vance spokesman declined to comment.

In Thursday’s ruling, Marrero said the expulsion would effectively give the president immunity from Vance’s criminal probe, which the U.S. Supreme Court declared in July that he was not right.

The grand jury’s legal battle and secrecy rules make it unlikely that the tax returns will be made public before the Nov. 3 election in which Trump seeks a second term.

Unlike other recent presidents, Trump has refused to release his tax return.

Vance’s investigation into Trump and his Trump Organization was fueled by revelations of hefty cash payments to pornographic film actress Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal, who said they had sexual relations with Trump. He denied her claims.