19-05-2025
Indicted Supreme Court lawyer Goldstein asks judge to toss US tax charges
May 19 (Reuters) - Prominent former U.S. Supreme Court lawyer Thomas Goldstein has asked a federal judge to dismiss criminal charges stemming from his side career as a high-stakes poker player, disputing the government's evidence that he flouted tax laws.
Lawyers for Goldstein at law firm Munger, Tolles & Olson on Friday filed pretrial requests to a U.S. judge in Maryland seeking to exclude statements he had made to U.S. customs agents and to force the government to disclose more information about its allegations.
Goldstein was indicted in January for tax evasion and other alleged tax crimes connected to his poker playing, which featured games in the United States and abroad with stakes reaching into the millions of dollars.
The charges mainly relate to his federal income taxes for the 2016-2021 tax years. Goldstein has pleaded not guilty.
The prosecution has drawn widespread attention given his national prominence as a top appellate lawyer before his retirement from practice in 2023. Goldstein, the former publisher of the SCOTUSblog news site, has argued more than 40 Supreme Court cases and represented major corporate clients.
Goldstein and his defense lawyers did not immediately respond to requests for comment. A spokesperson for the U.S. attorney's office for Maryland declined to comment.
In one filing, Goldstein accused prosecutors of withholding, opens new tab information beneficial to his defense, including full witness statements from some employees of his former law firm Goldstein & Russell. Prosecutors contend Goldstein illegally deducted salaries and health benefits from four women who did not qualify as employees of the firm based on the little amount of work they did.
Goldstein also contends he filed a tax return in each year identified in the charging documents and said that he paid the outstanding taxes with penalties and interest.
He urged U.S. District Judge Lydia Kay Griggsby to throw out, opens new tab statements he allegedly made to U.S. customs officials in 2018, arguing he was in custody at the time and should have been advised of certain protections, including the right to remain silent.
Prosecutors allege Goldstein told a customs officer that about $968,000 he was carrying in cash was gambling income.
Goldstein also said there is no evidence he ever affirmatively instructed office managers at his law firm to mischaracterize personal transactions as business expenses.
He said some of the charged crimes fall outside the six-year window in which they must be filed under relevant U.S. tax laws.
Goldstein's trial is scheduled for January 2026.
The case is United States of America v. Thomas C. Goldstein, U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, No. 8:25-cr-00006-LKG.
For United States: Patrick Kibbe of the U.S. attorney's office, and Stanley Okula Jr of the Justice Department
For Goldstein: Jonathan Kravis, Stephany Reaves and Adeel Mohammadi of Munger, Tolles & Olson
Read more:
Supreme Court veteran Goldstein wins release again in tax crimes case
Supreme Court lawyer pleads not guilty in tax case tied to poker winnings
Leading US Supreme Court attorney Tom Goldstein charged with tax crimes
