Calif. court rejects Trump-targeted tax return law

LOS ANGELES — President Donald Trump does not have to disclose his tax returns to appear as a candidate on California’s primary ballot next spring, the state Supreme Court ruled unanimously Thursday.

The law, the first of its kind in the nation and aimed squarely at Trump, violates the state constitution’s “specification of an inclusive open presidential primary ballot,” the court said.

“Ultimately, it is the voters who must decide whether the refusal of a ‘recognized candidate throughout the nation or throughout California for the office of President of the United States’ to make such information available to the public will have consequences at the ballot box,” Chief Justice Tani Cantil-sakauye wrote in the 7-0 decision.

A U.S. judge had temporarily blocked the state law in response to a different lawsuit, and the high court ruled quickly because the deadline to file tax returns for getting on the primary ballot is next week.

The state Republican Party and Chairwoman Jessica Millan Patterson challenged the bill signed into law this year by Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom because it singled out Trump.

“Today’s ruling is a victory for every California voter,” Patterson said in a statement.

The state defended the law, saying release of tax returns gave voters important information to weigh candidates’ financial status.

Meanwhile, House Democrats and Manhattan’s top prosecutor told the U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday that Trump’s arguments to shield his tax returns and financial records are weak and not deserving of the justices’ intervention.

The House’s plea to allow enforcement of its subpoena comes a few days after Chief Justice John Roberts imposed an indefinite delay to give the court time to figure out how to handle the case.

A similar fight also has reached the high court from New York. The justices probably will decide by mid-january whether to hear the New York case and might want to deal with the two cases together.