Sacramento Bee-

A majority of California Supreme Court justices appeared to side with Republicans who challenged a state law that would force President Donald Trump to release the last five years of his tax returns in order to get on the state’s 2020 primary ballot.

During oral arguments on Wednesday, several justices aggressively questioned an attorney representing Secretary of State Alex Padilla — the leader of the state’s elections processes tasked with implementing Senate Bill 27.

At the hearing, the court largely echoed the concerns of former Gov. Jerry Brown, who vetoed a similar bill in 2017. In his veto message, Brown questioned whether the law was constitutional and worried that a law forcing the release of tax returns could set a “slippery slope precedent.”

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