President Donald Trump is seeking a temporary restraining order to prevent House Ways and Means Chairman Richard Neal from taking advantage of the New York law. | Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images finance & tax Judge agrees to hear bid to move Trump state tax return case to New York

A federal judge in Washington presiding over a case involving President Donald Trump’s state tax returns said today that he will hear a bid to move the case to New York.

District Court Judge Carl Nichols said he agreed to a proposal by New York state to allow it to challenge his court’s jurisdiction over the issue.


In exchange, the judge barred the state from turning over the president’s state tax filings to congressional Democrats, should they ask for them under a newly enacted New York law, while the case is pending. The state must also alert Nichols if Democrats request the tax documents while the case is being argued, the judge ordered.

He set a hearing on the issue for Aug. 29.

The decision was not unexpected, since Nichols said Wednesday he was leaning toward the idea. It comes in a case in which Trump is seeking a temporary restraining order to prevent House Ways and Means Chairman Richard Neal (D-Mass.) from taking advantage of the New York law.

Neal, who is separately suing Trump for his federal returns, has not shown much interest in using the law for fear it could undermine his own suit. Trump is concerned though that Neal could change his mind and obtain his filings without warning.

Earlier this week, Nichols asked the three sides in the dispute to see if they could come up with a compromise.

They failed, though a lawyer for New York offered to hold off handing over any requested materials if it was given a chance to move the case to the Southern District of New York. The state said it would not turn over the filings until a week after the court decides, in order to give Trump a chance to respond.