Donald Trump, GOP sue California over new tax transparency law

The Trump campaign and the Republican party filed lawsuits challenging a new law that would require a presidential candidate to release five years of taxes in order to be on the state primary ballot.

The bill was signed into law last week by California Gov. Gavin Newsom. The bill was authored by North Coast state Sen. Mike McGuire (D-Healdsburg) and San Francisco area state Sen. Scott Wiener.

The move is the latest in a battle over whether the president will make his tax returns public, something every candidate for president has done since 1973.

“Releasing of tax returns has never been a big deal, up until now,” McGuire said in a prepared statement. “All presidents have done it for 40 years. It comes as no surprise that President Trump would freak out at the prospect of presidential transparency and accountability, but he will need to get used to it. Welcome to the rule of law, Mr. President.”

The lawsuit from the president seeks an injunction to halt the enforcement of Senate Bill 27.

The lawsuits argue the law violates the U.S. Constitution by creating an extra requirement to run for president and deprives citizens the right to vote for their chosen candidates. The Constitution puts just three requirements on presidential candidates: that they are natural-born citizens, 35 or older and a U.S. resident for at least 14 years.

The lawsuit specifically targets named plaintiffs, Secretary of State Alex Padilla and Attorney General Xavier Becerra.

The Trump lawsuit also specifically names the bill’s authors, although not as plaintiffs, and alleges McGuire admitted on Twitter to targeting Trump.

“After Governor Newsom signed the bill, Senator McGuire tweeted, ‘Times up, @realDonaldTrump. If you want to be on the CA primary ballot, release your returns. It’s a low bar to hit, unless you have something to hide,’” the lawsuit from the Trump campaign states. “He also admitted in another tweet that President Trump was the ‘catalyst for the bill.’”

California’s law is “a naked political attack against the sitting President of the United States,” the state and national Republican parties argued in one of two lawsuits filed in U.S. District Court in Sacramento.

Newsom responded on Twitter to the lawsuits on Tuesday morning.

“There’s an easy fix Mr. President — release your tax returns as you promised during the campaign and follow the precedent of every president since 1973,” the governor tweeted.

McGuire does not believe the lawsuits have legal footing and cited Trump’s low success rate.

“President Trump’s success in the courts leaves much to be desired,” he said in an email to the Times-Standard. “Whether he’s fighting on his own or having extreme right-wing surrogates go to court on his behalf, his win rate is one of the worst — just 11 percent against State Attorneys General across this country.”

He added that when writing the bill, “We’ve worked with some of the brightest constitutional minds in the nation on this bill and believe this is a fight worth having.”

Wiener noted that he was not surprised by the quick legal response.

“It’s not surprising that Trump and his allies have sued,” he said in an email to the Times-Standard. “They don’t want to reveal this information, which speaks volumes. But ultimately, this law isn’t about Donald Trump. It’s about all current and future presidential candidates and ensuring the American people receive the information they deserve.”

He added that he believes the law will withstand scrutiny.

“We have a strong legal basis for this law,” Wiener said. “It doesn’t create any new qualifications for the presidency. Rather it’s an administrative ballot access requirement, no different than other information currently required to get onto the ballot.”

The U.S. Supreme court has previously halted state efforts to add ballot access rules for congressional candidates. Former Gov. Jerry Brown, also a Democrat, vetoed a similar law two years ago, arguing it would create a slippery slope of trying to force candidates to release additional information to run for president.

At least two other lawsuits have already been filed.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. Ruth Schneider can be reached at 707-441-0520.