Trump Investigators Claim President Is Seeking to Delay New York Probe

(Bloomberg) -- New York State prosecutors accused President Donald Trump of trying to stall a subpoena of his tax records after the U.S. Supreme Court rejected his claim of absolute immunity to state criminal investigations last week.

“Every day that goes by the president wins the absolute kind of temporary immunity he’s sought in this case,” Assistant District Attorney Carey Dunne said during a federal court hearing Thursday in Manhattan. The president is trying to move the case back to square one and rehash old arguments, Dunne said. “Let’s not let delay-kill this case.”

While the nation’s top court rejected Trump’s appeal, the justices said he could raise objections in the lower court that any recipient of a subpoena might advance.

The case highlights a legal risk for Trump as he seeks reelection amid falling poll numbers and an economy struggling in a pandemic. Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. is investigating hush-money payments made before the 2016 presidential election to Stormy Daniels, a porn actress who claims she had an affair with Trump.

U.S. District Judge Victor Marrero said Thursday that he must assess whether the state’s subpoena for financial records held by Trump’s accounting firm “is properly tailored or over-broad,” as well as whether it was motivated by a “desire to harass” the president, among other issues.

Marrero, who had previously found the subpoena to be proper, asked lawyers for Trump to explain whether there are “different facts” than those he’d already considered that would suggest the probe was brought in bad faith.

Attorneys for the president declined to identify the specific arguments they would raise to attack the subpoena, saying they are still reviewing the Supreme Court decision. But William Consovoy, a lawyer for Trump, provided a preview of their strategy, signaling a prolonged legal fight with claims that the state’s intent was to harass the president.

The president’s defense team will seek additional evidence about the nature and scope of the investigation, contending the state demand for records was simply copied from similar subpoenas issued by congressional committees, Consovoy said.

Trump will file his additional claims by July 27, and a court conference is set for Aug. 5.

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