Posted on 05/20/19
| News Source: The Hill
District Judge Amit Mehta on Monday ruled in favor of a subpoena issued by the House Oversight and Reform Committee for President Trump's financial records from the accounting firm Mazars.
In a 41-page opinion, Mehta found that "President Trump cannot block the subpoena to Mazars."
Trump's attorneys had argued that the subpoena, issued by Chairman Elijah Cummings (D-Md.), was unconstitutional because it wasn't tied to legislation. But attorneys for the House said the records will help the panel strengthen ethics and disclosure laws and monitor whether Trump is in compliance with the Emoluments Clause of the Constitution.
In his ruling, Mehta, an Obama appointee, noted that the panel's "broad investigative power is not new," pointing to investigations conducted by the committee while it was under Republican control.
And he found that "it is not for the court to question whether the Committee’s actions are truly motivated by political considerations," as the president’s attorneys have argued.
“The court is well aware that this case involves records concerning the private and business affairs of the President of the United States,” Mehta wrote. “But on the question of whether to grant a stay pending appeal, the President is subject to the same legal standard as any other litigant that does not prevail.”
The order is a blow to the president and his administration, who have vowed to fight all subpoenas issued as part of the sweeping investigations into Trump, his family and his businesses. Read more at The Hill