SACRAMENTO — A California-based federal judge intends to issue a preliminary injunction suspending a new law that would require Donald Trump and other candidates to release their tax returns to appear on primary ballots.
Plaintiffs representing Trump, his presidential campaign and the California Republican Party sued almost immediately to block California’s law, saying it was an unconstitutional infringement.
Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, signed the law in July.U.S. District Court Judge Morrison C. England Jr. seemed consistently skeptical of California’s arguments in favor of the law. He acknowledged the ruling will almost certainly be appealed.
England was appointed to the court in 2002 by President George W. Bush.
“I don’t care how you skin the cat. It’s an unconstitutional law and I will take it,” Harmeet Dhillon, who is representing the California Republican Party, told reporters outside the courtroom.
“It’s a huge burden” for Republicans throughout the state, Dhillon said. She added that eliminating "the most popular Republican in the country from the ballot is going to have a huge downballot effect.”
Article originally published on POLITICO Magazine