California law demands tax returns from presidential candidates
WASHINGTON — In a salvo clearly aimed at President Donald Trump, California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill to require presidential candidates to file their federal tax returns for the five most recent years with the California Secretary of State in order to appear on the Golden State’s primary ballot.
Trump’s refusal to release his tax returns ahead of the 2016 presidential election became a sticking point for Democrats like Newsom, who frame Trump’s refusal to make his tax returns public as an unwarranted break with precedent. According to factcheck.org, Trump is the first nominee of either party not to release five years’ worth of returns before Election Day.
In May 2016, Trump said that he would not release his returns because he was under audit and “there’s nothing to learn” from the documents.
Senate Bill 27, the Presidential Tax Transparency and Accountability Act, seems destined to wend its way through federal courts all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Newsom’s predecessor, fellow Democrat Gov. Jerry Brown, vetoed a similar bill on the grounds that it may not be constitutional and presented a “slippery slope” that could encourage states to tack on a list of new requirements for would-be presidents.
Criticized as unconstitutional
Tim Murtaugh, director of communications for the Trump 2020 campaign, noted in an email: “There are very good reasons why the very liberal Gov. Jerry Brown vetoed this bill two years ago — it’s unconstitutional and it opens up the possibility for states to load up more requirements on candidates in future elections. What’s next, five years of health records?”
“California is leading the nation,” Newsom said in a short video as he discussed past laws that curbed one-time norms — President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s election to four terms — reduced to a two-term limit by constitutional amendment — and President John F. Kennedy’s nomination of his brother Robert as attorney general, which spawned anti-nepotism laws
The left-leaning Sacramento Bee lambasted Newsom’s decision to support the bill in an editorial under the headline, “Bored governor signs silly bill: Film at 11.”
“In reality, it will likely be shot down on the grounds that it is unconstitutional,” the Bee editorialized. “The U.S. Constitution does not require anyone to release their tax returns in order to run for president.”
The Constitution provides in Article 2, Section 1, that “each state shall appoint, in such manner as the Legislature thereof may direct, a number of electors” who vote for president in the electoral college on a day set by Congress.
Experts defend law
Newsom came armed for the constitutional argument in a signing statement that quoted three renowned figures in legal circles, including University of California Berkeley law school Dean Erwin Chemerinksy, who argued that the law — a first in the nation — is constitutional.
One of the bill’s authors said that four candidates in the 2020 Democratic primary, including former Vice President Joe Biden, would not currently qualify for the California ballot because of the five-year requirement.
Trump and Newsom have a checkered history — both personal and professional.
Trump’s son, Donald Jr., is dating Newsom’s ex-wife, former Fox News personality Kimberly Guilfoyle.
Newsom, who is expected to run for the White House some time in his upwardly mobile political career, won the governor’s office in 2018 by running on platforms that strongly diverge from Trump’s positions, most notably Trump’s opposition to climate-chance regulations.
The two first met when Trump flew to California in the wake of the devastating Paradise, California fires in November. With the outgoing Gov. Brown serving as chaperone, Trump made it known that his Washington and Newsom’s Sacramento would work together.
In February when Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak boycotted White House events sponsored by the National Govenors Association, Newsom made a point of attending a White House ball. He told the Los Angeles Times that while he frequently disagrees with Trump, “I feel a deep obligation to rise above that.”
Contact Debra J. Saunders at dsaunders@reviewjournal.com or 202-662-7391. Follow @DebraJSaunders on Twitter.
