District court ruling holds Trump accountable

A serious question has been answered by a federal judge about President Donald Trump over access to his tax records. The question is simple: Is the President of the United States above the law? The answer is equally simple: No.

Trump cannot sue New York officials in a Washington, D.C., court to block access to his tax records.

U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols of the District of Columbia threw out the lawsuit last week, adding that Trump could still “renew his claims against the New York defendants should future events trigger one or more provisions of Washington’s ‘long-arm’ statute, and he may, of course, sue either New York defendant in another forum (presumably in New York).”

The lawsuit was brought by Trump to challenge New York’s TRUST Act, which allows state officials to obtain the tax returns of federal, state and local government officials, including the president, if requested by congressional tax committees for legislative purposes.

The president tried to challenge the law — amid the impeachment inquiry against him — in a Washington federal court based on the “long-arm” statute, which allows for issues connected to “transacting any business in the District of Columbia” to be litigated in the court. Trump argued that his tax returns being sent to Washington if Congress were to request them counted as a business transaction.

State Attorney General Letitia James said last week she never doubted the legality of the TRUST Act.

“We have said all along that this lawsuit should be dismissed and we are pleased with the court’s conclusion,” she said.

It calls to mind a word that millions of Americans, including the citizens of New York, demand of all their elected officials, even the man in the Oval Office. That word is accountability.