Trump-appointed judge delivers major blow to president's efforts to keep his taxes secret

President Donald Trump on Monday suffered yet another legal defeat in his quest to keep his tax returns a secret -- and it came at the hands of one of the president's own appointees.

CNN reports that Trump-appointed Judge Carl Nichols the of United States District Court for the District of Columbia has ruled that the president cannot sue the state of New York in his court to prevent the release of his taxes.

In his ruling, Nichols found that Trump's attorneys failed to establish a so-called "conspiracy jurisdiction" based on his accusations that New York Attorney General Letitia James is a co-conspirator with House Democrats in a plot to improperly reveal the president's personal financial information.

"Based on the current allegations, Mr. Trump has not met his burden of establishing personal jurisdiction over either of the New York Defendants," Nichols wrote. "The Court therefore need not reach the question of proper venue."

The New York state legislature this year passed a law that would allow the House of Representatives to request the president's New York tax returns. The law was passed as a way to help congressional Democrats get a glimpse of Trump's taxes even as his administration stonewalled their requests to see his federal tax returns.