US: California law would force Trump to disclose taxes

By Michael Hernandez

WASHINGTON (AA) - California Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law Tuesday a controversial bill requiring all presidential candidates running in the state's primary to disclose the last five years of their tax returns.

While the bill also applies to California governors seeking office, Newsom's action was aimed squarely at President Donald Trump who has refused to comply with decades of precedent set by his predecessors to make the financial documents public.

Trump and all others running in the state's March 2020 primary now have until late November to provide the records to appear on California's primary ballot.

The president could theoretically choose not to run in the state primary as he is unlikely to face a Republican challenger, and therefore win the Republican Party's 2020 nomination by default.

Newsom said U.S. states "have a legal and moral duty" to ensure those seeking America's top offices "meet minimal standards" that include disclosing potential "conflicts of interest, self-dealing, or influence from domestic and foreign business interest."

"As one of the largest economies in the world and home to one in nine Americans eligible to vote, California has a special responsibility to require this information of presidential and gubernatorial candidates," Newsom said in a statement.

Trump is nearly certain to launch a legal challenge to the nascent law, as he has in past attempts to force his financial disclosures. He has yet to comment on the matter.