U.S. court says some Trump financial records must be handed to House panel
Reuters
Published Jul 08, 2022 02:52PM ET
By Jacqueline Thomsen
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. appeals court on Friday largely upheld a congressional subpoena seeking financial records from former President Donald Trump’s accounting firm Mazars, but said some of the lawmakers' requests went too far.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit unanimously ruled https://fingfx.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/legaldocs/zgvomxwgdvd/DCCMazars.pdf that the Democratic-controlled House Oversight Committee can obtain records from a period surrounding Trump's 2016 campaign and his time in office.
The court said the subpoena's scope was "overbroad" for many of the records, including some related to the federal lease for Trump's former Washington, D.C., hotel. It said lawmakers can only subpoena documents closely tied to legislation they are considering.
A lawyer for Trump and a Mazars spokesperson did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Trump has decried the probe as politically motivated. Friday's opinion rejected or declined to take up several of Trump's legal arguments, including that the subpoenaed information could not be used for legislation.
The ruling allows the House committee to obtain some records connected to the Trump hotel lease, as well as records tied to allegations that Trump violated financial disclosure laws and may have breached the Constitution's "emoluments" clause, which prevents federal officeholders from accepting payments from foreign governments without congressional approval.
The appeals court also found that a test created by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2020 concerning Congress seeking papers from sitting presidents applies in this case, although Trump is no longer in office.
The House Oversight Committee first issued the subpoena for the Trump financial records in 2019, spurring a legal challenge from the then-president.
The U.S. Supreme Court said in July 2020 that House Democrats had to further explain their need for the records, and that the trial court should balance that with the burdens placed on Trump by complying with the subpoena.
U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta in Washington last year found Mazars should turn over some but not all of the financial records the House committee sought.
Get The News You Want
Written By: Reuters
Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.