A federal appellate court judge has said that she foresees President Donald Trump returning to the White House after winning the 2024 election.
While ruling on a case regarding Trump’s tax returns, Judge Karen Henderson said that she has to consider that the 45th POTUS may “be a sitting president again.”
She noted that Trump’s likely return impacts the case.
“We have a situation that involves a sitting President and a former president,” Judge Karen Henderson, of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit, said.
“If this drags out, for all we know he could be a sitting president again.”
Trump is appealing a ruling by a lower court judge, Trevor McFadden, that he appointed. McFadden ruled the court couldn’t block Congress from getting Trump’s tax returns because of the separation of powers.
CNN reported, “But the DC Circuit on Thursday asked more questions about the separation of powers between the executive branch and Congress, and whether the courts should consider this more when determining whether Congress can get Trump’s IRS records.
“Henderson pointed to another ongoing case between Trump and the House where the Supreme Court laid out a test for Congress to be able to seek his accounting records from the firm Mazars USA.”
House Ways and Means Chairman Richard Neal said after the December ruling Trump appealed,
“This ruling is no surprise, the law is clearly on the Committee’s side.
“I am pleased that we’re now one step closer to being able to conduct more thorough oversight of the IRS’s mandatory presidential audit program.”
McFadden said in his initial ruling that Trump was “wrong on the law,” as a “long line of Supreme Court cases requires great deference to facially valid congressional inquiries.”
McFadden wrote:
“Even the special solicitude accorded former Presidents does not alter the outcome.
“It might not be right or wise to publish the returns, but it is the Chairman’s right to do so.
“Congress has granted him this extraordinary power, and courts are loath to second guess congressional motives or duly enacted statutes.
“The Court will not do so here and thus must dismiss this case.”
Trump got some good news from an unexpected source this week. Multiple media outlets are reporting that the Manhattan DA is giving back evidence taken from witnesses in the case against Trump.
Legal experts say they only do this when the case is over.
From BI:
The office of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg has started returning evidence to witnesses in its investigation into the Trump Organization, The Daily Beast reported.
According to The Daily Beast, two sources said witnesses who gave evidence to prosecutors had been receiving it back recently.
One witness for the investigation told Insider he received documents back from the DA’s office only after he asked for them to be returned.
Prosecutors generally return evidence to witnesses after an investigation has concluded or when they no longer believe a crime has taken place.
