President Donald Trump. Photo courtesy of The White House

President Donald Trump asked a federal judge in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday to immediately enjoin the U.S. House Ways and Means Committee from utilizing a New York state law to obtain copies of his state tax returns.

The filing comes one day after Trump filed a federal lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia seeking to have the New York state law struck down as unconstitutional.

Attorneys for Trump wrote in the filing that the court should bar federal lawmakers from using the state law to request copies of his state tax returns until the legal challenge has been afforded judicial review. The court has the power to do so under the All Writs Act, they argued.

“The president is in an intolerable situation: If he seeks relief after the chairman requests his state tax returns, the returns might be disclosed before he can be heard in court,” the filing said. “At the same time, immediate judicial review could force the court to prematurely decide constitutional issues that might otherwise be avoided.”

Trump is represented by William Consovoy and Patrick Strawbridge of Consovoy McCarthy.

They argued in the filing that federal lawmakers could use the New York state law, called the TRUST Act, to obtain copies of his state tax returns at any time, including before the lawsuit is resolved.

That's true; House Ways and Means Chairman Richard Neal, D-Massachusetts, could use the law to ask the state Department of Taxation and Finance for Trump's state filings. Neal hasn't said whether he plans to do so. Trump's attorneys argued that he shouldn't have the option while the litigation is ongoing.

“For its part, the committee has not made a binding commitment to refrain from using this mechanism to obtain the president's state returns, and all available evidence suggests it will request them before the 2020 election,” the filing said.

If their request isn't granted, Trump's attorneys wrote, the lawsuit could become moot if federal lawmakers decide to use the TRUST Act before it's undergone judicial review. You can't unring a bell, so to speak.

But if the court is rushed to evaluate the law without more review, Trump's attorneys said they would have less time to make their case. That would, consequently, give the court less time to consider the constitutionality of the TRUST Act, they wrote.

Either option could result in federal lawmakers obtaining copies of Trump's state tax filings, the attorneys argued. They asked the court to pump the brakes so the TRUST Act could be evaluated more closely without any risk to Trump.

“The irreparable harm that the president will suffer from this disclosure of his tax records underscores the propriety of equitable intervention to preserve judicial review,” the filing said.

The TRUST Act allows the chairpersons of three congressional committees to request copies of Trump's state tax filings from the state Department of Taxation and Finance in New York. It also allows the tax filings of most other elected or appointed officials in New York to be requested, though the law was inspired by Trump.

There are limits to when those tax filings can be requested, and for what purpose. Federal lawmakers can only ask the state agency for someone's tax documents if the U.S. Treasury Department has already rejected such a request. In the case of Trump, that's already happened.

A request for someone's state tax filings also has to be “related to, and in furtherance of, a legitimate task of the Congress.”

Trump's attorneys argued in the lawsuit filed Tuesday that members of Congress couldn't possibly have a purpose for obtaining his state tax filings because they're tasked with overseeing federal laws, not state tax laws.

“No legitimate legislative purpose exists to request the president's state tax returns,” the lawsuit said. “The primary purpose of any request under the TRUST Act would be exposure for the sake of exposure, law enforcement, or some other wholly impermissible goal—not pursuing valid federal legislation.”

A spokesman for the House Ways and Means Committee did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The committee is named as a defendant in the suit, as are New York Attorney General Letitia James and New York State Tax Commissioner Michael Schmidt.

The case is before U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden of the District of Columbia.

READ MORE:

Trump Files Federal Lawsuit in Bid to Strike Down NY Law Allowing Congress to Obtain State Tax Returns

Cuomo Signs Legislation Allowing Congress to Request Trump's NY State Tax Returns

NY Legislature OKs Bill to Release Trump's State Tax Returns to US Congress