Washington, September 20: US President Donald Trump filed a lawsuit on Thursday in an attempt to block New York prosecutors' efforts to obtain his tax returns. The lawsuit was filed in US District Court in New York against Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance and Mazars USA, Trump's accounting firm, Xinhua news agency reported. It followed multiple reports emerging on Monday that a subpoena was sent in August by Vance's office to Mazars USA, requesting eight years of the president's state and federal tax returns.

The firm said in a statement on Monday it "will respect the legal process and fully comply with its legal obligations." "In response to the subpoenas issued by the New York County District Attorney, we have filed a lawsuit this morning in Federal Court on behalf of the President in order to address the significant constitutional issues at stake in this case," Trump's attorney Jay Sekulow said in a statement on Thursday. Donald Trump Imposes 'Hard-Hitting' Sanctions Against Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as Tensions With Iran Escalate.

Vance, a Democrat, also subpoenaed the Trump Organization for records related to the alleged hush money payment to porn actress Stormy Daniels, who claimed she had an affair with Trump. In addition, Vance has also been pursuing a mortgage fraud case against Paul Manafort, Trump's former campaign chairman.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 20, 2019 08:55 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).