Judge temporarily blocks House panel from getting Trump's N.Y. taxes

Aug. 1 (UPI) -- A federal judge in Washington, D.C., temporarily blocked New York state from turning over President Donald Trump's state tax returns to U.S. lawmakers Thursday.

District Judge Carl Nichols said the order would stay in place while he considers whether Trump's lawsuit should be heard in the nation's capital or New York. Trump sued to block the House Committee on Ways and Means from accessing his returns two weeks after New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed a law allowing the state to share the information with the U.S. Congress.

Trump accused congressional Democrats of seeking his tax returns and personal financial information solely to embarrass him. The lawsuit calls on Nichols to declare that the House committee "lacks a legitimate legislative purpose for obtaining the President's state tax information."

New York state, which is also named as a defendant in the suit, said the case should be heard in New York, not Washington, D.C.

Earlier this month, Cuomo signed legislation amending New York's tax code to give congressional tax-related committees access to state tax returns if requested. The legislation, which doesn't specifically name Trump, gives the New York Department of Taxation and Finance authority to share tax returns with lawmakers.

Trump hasn't disclosed any tax information since announcing his candidacy in mid-2015. While he's refused repeated calls by lawmakers to release his federal tax returns, his New York state returns could contain much of the same information.