Trump Appeals Ruling That Would Allow Congress to See His Financial Records

Updated: May 21, 2019 / 10:09 a.m.

On Tuesday, U.S. President Donald Trump appealed a federal judge’s ruling in an attempt to block the House of Representatives committee from obtaining his financial records, according to court filings.

Lawyers on behalf of Trump and his company filed the appeal in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia a day after a U.S. district judge backed the House Oversight Committee subpoena for Trump’s financial records from his accounting firm, Mazars LLP.

On Monday, the lower court’s decision made an early setback for the Republican president in his legal battle with congressional Democrats as lawmakers begin investigating several aspects of his administration.

The House Oversight Committee has previously mentioned before that they need Trump’s financial records to examine whether he has any conflicts of interest or has broken the law by not disengaging himself from his business holdings, as previous presidents did.

Trump’s lawyers have argued that the panel’s demand for his records exceeded Congress’s constitutional limits. Mazars has mentioned that it will comply with its legal obligations but has taken no sides as the case plays out in court.

Trump still has ownership over the Trump Organization but has said he would leave its day-to-day operations to his eldest two sons while he’s in office. Unlike previous modern U.S. presidential candidates, Trump has not disclosed his tax returns during his run for the White House.