Trump sues lawmakers, NY officials to block release of state tax returns

NEW YORK - US President Donald Trump on Tuesday sued the Democratic-controlled House Ways and Means Committee and New York State officials, seeking to thwart efforts to obtain his state tax returns.

Trump filed the lawsuit in federal court in Washington against the Ways and Means Committee, New York State Attorney General Letitia James, and New York State Tax Commissioner Michael Schmidt, media reported.

On July 2, the House Ways and Means Committee, chaired by Richard Neal, sued the Treasury Department, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and their respective leaders, Steven Mnuchin and Charles Rettig, over their refusal to turn over Trump's tax returns.

On July 8, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo signed an amendment to state law that would allow Congress to get hold of Trump's state tax returns.

This is the latest development in the fight over Trump's tax information. Tax transparency has been in the spotlight after Trump rejected a decades-old tradition that presidents and White House hopefuls would make their tax returns public.

Democrats have claimed that Trump's business dealings present a host of potential conflicts of interest that they can't understand without his tax information.