Trump tax-files hold sought at high court
WASHINGTON -- President Donald Trump on Tuesday asked the U.S. Supreme Court to put on hold an appeals court ruling that Trump's accountant must immediately turn over tax records to a New York state prosecutor, setting up a decision from the high court that could come before Election Day.
The court could allow the immediate enforcement of a subpoena issued by Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. or block it temporarily. Even if the court rules against Trump, however, the records would normally not be made public but turned over to Vance's office.
This is the second time the records issue has reached the high court.
While the court previously prevented the records from being turned over while the case proceeded, justices in July rejected Trump's argument that he is effectively immune from investigation while he holds office. But the high court returned the Vance case and another, similar case involving records sought by Congress to lower courts to allow Trump's attorneys to make additional arguments.
In August, a district judge rejected Trump's attorneys' renewed efforts to block Vance's access to the records. And last week, the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan agreed, saying the records should be turned over. But the rulings have been on hold while the president's attorneys appeal.
Vance is seeking more than eight years of the Republican president's personal and corporate tax records as part of an investigation his office is conducting.
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Democrats' emoluments case thwarted
WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Supreme Court declined Tuesday to revive a lawsuit filed by members of Congress against President Donald Trump accusing him of illegally profiting off the presidency.
The high court said that it would not hear a case filed by Democratic members of Congress in 2017. A federal appeals court in Washington previously ruled that the lawsuit should be dismissed.
As is typical when the Supreme Court declines to hear a case, the justices did not explain their reasoning.
Trump still faces other lawsuits alleging he violated the emoluments clause of the Constitution by accepting payments from foreign and domestic officials who stay at Trump International Hotel.
In May, a federal appeals court in Virginia reinstated a lawsuit filed by the state of Maryland and the District of Columbia. A similar lawsuit by by restaurant workers and a prominent restaurateur and hotelier also is ongoing.
Records detail fatal encounter at protest
DENVER -- A man fatally shot by a reporter's security guard after opposing weekend protests argued with another man before getting involved in an altercation with the guard, police said in a court document released Tuesday.
According to the arrest affidavit, Lee Keltner, 49, got into a verbal dispute with a 27-year-old man in which both "yelled and postured," leading others to believe the dispute was going to turn physical on Saturday. A 60-year-old man stepped in between them to urge them to stop before 30-year-old Matthew Dolloff and a 25-year-old person engaged in an altercation with Keltner as he was still arguing with the 27-year-old man.
Keltner slapped Dolloff in the head and Dolloff pulled out a semi-automatic handgun and shot Keltner as Keltner discharged pepper spray at him, the document said.
The names of the people mentioned in the affidavit besides Dolloff and Keltner were redacted so it was not clear if the 25-year-old was the KUSA-TV reporter Dolloff was hired to protect.
Dolloff has been jailed in a murder investigation but he has not been charged.
A lawyer who said he represented Dolloff's family, Doug Richards, said Monday that Dolloff opened fire because he saw Keltner reach into his pocket and he feared for his safety.
$15M to aid Black schools' virus testing
WASHINGTON -- Nine schools will receive millions from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to support campus coronavirus testing facilities and expand screening for thousands of students at historically Black colleges and universities, the organization announced Tuesday.
The foundation's three-year, $15 million donation will transform the schools into testing hubs, processing coronavirus tests for other historically black colleges and universities in their regions.
"When you look across the landscape of the country, the intent was really to have all the HBCUs participate," said Wayne Frederick, president of Howard University, which will be a hub. "With us being a total family of 104 HBCUs, I think we do have the capacity to cover just about everyone."
Florida A&M University in Tallahassee will serve as a testing hub. Other testing hubs will be at Hampton University, Meharry Medical College, Morehouse College and Xavier University of Louisiana.
-- Compiled by Democrat-Gazette staff from wire reports