Updated: 4/22/19
On Monday, President Donald Trump and his business organization are suing against the Democratic chairman of the House oversight committee to block a subpoena that is seeking years of the president’s financial records.
The complaint, which was filed in Washington’s federal court, claimed that the subpoena from Representative Elijah Cummings “has no legitimate legislative purpose” and accuses Democrats of harassing Donald Trump while wielding their new majority in Congress to try to stain the president’s standing.
“Instead of working with the president to pass bipartisan legislation that would actually benefit Americans, House Democrats are singularly obsessed with finding something they can use to damage the president politically,” the lawsuit said.
Cummings, who is a Maryland Democrat and also chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Reform, had issued out the subpoena earlier this month to Mazars USA, who is an accountant for Trump and his organization.
The subpoena is seeking eight years of documentation from Trump and several of his businesses, lawyers for Trump and the Trump Organization mentioned in a court filing.
Cummings disapproved of the lawsuit on Monday, claiming that it was “baseless.”
“There is simply no valid legal basis to interfere with this duly authorized subpoena from Congress,” Cummings, said in a statement. “This complaint reads more like political talking points than a reasoned legal brief, and it contains a litany of inaccurate information.”
He continued to add, “The White House is engaged in unprecedented stonewalling on all fronts, and they have refused to produce a single document or witness to the Oversight Committee during this entire year.”
The lawsuit is accusing Cummings of not consulting with Republicans on the panel before issuing out the subpoena and claimed he relied on the testimony of Michael Cohen, Trump’s former personal lawyer, who told legislators back in February that some of Trump’s financial statements contained inaccuracies.
The complaint also mentioned that the subpoena is seeking to investigate the events that occurred before Trump was president and “has no legitimate legislative purpose.”
It added, “Democrats are using their new control of congressional committees to investigate every aspect of President Trump’s personal finances, businesses, and even his family.”
Trump’s lawyer, Jay Sekulow, said in a statement on Monday that “we will not allow presidential harassment to go unanswered.”