Appeals Court Rules Against Trump on Subpoenas to Deutsche Bank, Capital One -- Update
December 03 2019 - 1:16PM
Dow Jones News
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, in a divided ruling, 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 public interest in vindicating the committee's
constitutional authority is clear and substantial," Judge Jon
Newman wrote for the majority in a 106-page opinion that was joined
by Judge Peter Hall.
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.
Trump lawyer Jay Sekulow said the subpoenas were invalid. "We
are evaluating our next options including seeking review at the
Supreme Court," he said.
Judge Debra Ann Livingston objected to core parts of the ruling
in a 59-page dissent, saying the subpoenas were "deeply troubling"
in their breadth and raised separation-of-powers concerns. She
would have required the House committees to provide additional
support for why the Trump financial records were pertinent to the
congressional investigations and should be disclosed.
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, Mazars USA LLP. Lower courts
ruled against the president, but the Supreme Court last month
suspended those subpoenas for now while the president mounts a high
court appeal.
Also pending before the high court is a separate Trump appeal
that seeks to challenge a subpoena Manhattan District Attorney
Cyrus Vance Jr. issued to Mazars for Trump financial records -- and
tax returns -- as part of a criminal investigation. Mr. Vance is
examining hush-money payments to two women who allege they had
affairs with Mr. Trump.
The Supreme Court could announce in the next few weeks whether
it will review those cases.
Write to Brent Kendall at brent.kendall@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
December 03, 2019 13:01 ET (18:01 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2019 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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