quote:

President Donald Trump suffered another setback in his effort to guard his financial information as a federal appeals court refused to block the Manhattan district attorney’s subpoena to his accountants for tax records.

The 3-0 ruling by the federal appeals court in Manhattan moves the case closer to a possible showdown in the U.S. Supreme Court. If Trump loses there, he may run out of legal ways to halt District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. from obtaining the records.

The court soundly rejected Trump’s claim that his broad presidential immunity prevents state prosecutors from investigating his affairs or obtaining records from his accountant. A lawyer for Trump argued before the panel last month that Trump could shoot someone on Fifth Avenue, echoing his famous 2016 boast, and that criminal charges or even a subpoena for his records would be legally out of bounds.

“Presidential immunity does not bar the enforcement of a state grand jury subpoena directing a third party to produce non‐privileged material, even when the subject matter under investigation pertains to the president,” the Second Circuit Court of Appeals court said.

Though the ruling was narrow -- the court made clear it wasn’t weighing in on whether Trump could be prosecuted or himself required to turn over records -- it is still a significant blow to the president.