The probe now appears to go beyond the payments, with Vance saying in court filings he might have grounds to investigate Trump and his businesses for tax and insurance fraud, and that possible bank fraud might also be examined.
Trump’s lawyers have said the subpoena was “wildly overbroad”, issued in bad faith, and part of a “fishing expedition” designed to harass him.
Vance is a Democrat, and Trump is a Republican.
Friday’s arguments follow the US Supreme Court’s July 9 rejection of Trump’s claim he was absolutely immune from criminal probes while in the White House.
The Supreme Court said Trump could raise other challenges to the subpoena. Trump has said he expects a return to that court if the appeals court rules against him, as it did last November.
In an August 20 ruling, US District Judge Victor Marrero said Vance should obtain the returns, saying Trump’s effort to prolong the dispute could cause statutes of limitations to run out and give him the immunity the Supreme Court rejected.
“Justice requires an end to this controversy,” Marrero wrote.
The investigation has been stalled as Trump fights an August 2019 grand jury subpoena to his accounting firm Mazars USA for eight years of his corporate and personal tax returns.
Trump’s lawyers want the case returned to Marrero so he can review the substance of the president’s arguments, rather than treat them as a repackaging of his immunity claim.
Though the appeal was fast-tracked, the public is unlikely to know what is in Trump’s tax returns before the November 3 election.
Grand jury proceedings are secret, and if Vance gets the returns it could be months before their contents become public.
All three judges on the appeals court panel were appointed by Democratic presidents, as was Marrero.
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