Taking up the case in Washington would raise state sovereignty issues, he said. And, besides, Nichols said, congressional Democrats have yet to take advantage of the law and it’s unclear if they ever will.

Nichols said Trump could refile the case in New York.

“The court concludes that it does not presently have jurisdiction,” Nichols wrote in a 19-page opinion. “Mr. Trump may press his claims against the New York defendants in this court should future events support the exercise of personal jurisdiction over them or he may opt to pursue those claims in an appropriate forum.”

The New York law allows House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal to see Trump’s state returns upon request.

Neal has demonstrated little interest in making use of the law though, to the consternation of many liberals, for fear that it could undermine his own separate lawsuit for Trump’s federal returns.

House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal. | Alex Brandon/AP Photo

Trump has been concerned though that Neal could change his mind at any point without notice, and preemptively sued in July to stop him from acting.

It is one of a handful of lawsuits dealing with Trump’s long-hidden returns.

The New York case had lagged far behind the others, though it had more potential to make Trump’s tax information publicly available than another case, involving a Manhattan grand jury, now headed for the Supreme Court.

It's uncertain what step Trump may take now in light of Nichols' ruling.

“We are reviewing the opinion,” said Trump’s personal lawyer Jay Sekulow.

In a statement, New York Attorney General Letitia James said: “We have said all along that this lawsuit should be dismissed and we are pleased with the court’s conclusion.”

Though the case had been before the judge for months, it had gotten bogged down in a jurisdictional dispute, with the sides barely debating its underlying merits.

Trump’s lawyers argued the suit belonged in Washington because that’s where Trump’s New York returns would be sent and analyzed, if Neal requested them.

Lawyers for the state of New York demanded the case either be dismissed or transferred to the Southern District of New York, arguing Nichols did not have authority over the state’s laws or officials.

Nichols agreed, and noted in his opinion that Trump had recently changed his residency to Florida.

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“Mr. Trump – who apparently considered New York his primary residence until recently, when he changed it to Florida” seeks to “hale New York state officials into federal court in the District of Columbia to litigate the constitutionality of New York state tax statute,” Nichols wrote in a footnote.

The decision is likely to increase pressure on Neal to make use of the New York law.

Wary of his own suit appearing to be a political fishing expedition, Neal argued he needs Trump’s federal returns in order to understand how well the IRS is implementing a long-standing policy of auditing the president. He’s been concerned that could be undermined by seeking the president’s state returns.

“It’s time for Congress to request them,” said New York state Sen. Brad Hoylman (D-Manhattan), who sponsored the legislation that became law. “We’re serving up the president’s state tax returns on a silver platter – why don’t they request them?”

Darren Samuelsohn, Josh Gerstein and Anna Gronewold contributed to this report.