DBK Deutsche Bank AG

By Brent Kendall 

A federal appeals court ruled House Democrats can enforce subpoenas to two banks that seek President Trump's financial records, as well as those of his family and their businesses.

The New York-based U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit on Tuesday rejected Mr. Trump's request to block the subpoenas, which House committees issued earlier this year to Deutsche Bank AG and Capital One Financial Corp.

The court said Congress had valid and lawful purposes for seeking the documents, even though the information was about the Trump family's private financial and business affairs.

The court said the documents were relevant for investigations by the House Financial Services and Intelligence Committees into the movement of illicit funds through the global banking system and efforts by foreign entities to influence the U.S. political process.

The Second Circuit did order some limited exceptions to the subpoenas in order to prevent disclosure of sensitive personal information about the Trump family.

The appeals court agreed to stay its ruling for a week in order to give Mr. Trump the opportunity to seek emergency intervention from the Supreme Court.

The case is similar to one that has been litigated in Washington, D.C., in which House Democrats have sought records from Mr. Trump's longtime accounting firm. The Supreme Court last month suspended those subpoenas for now while the president mounts a high court appeal.

Write to Brent Kendall at brent.kendall@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

December 03, 2019 11:55 ET (16:55 GMT)

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