A federal appeals court ruled Tuesday that Congressional committees in the U.S. House are operating well within their legislative powers to subpoena the financial records of President Donald Trump and his family businesses, dealing another legal setback to the President's effort to block Deutsche Bank and Capitol One from turning over those records.
"The Committees' interests in pursuing their constitutional legislative function is a far more significant public interest than whatever public interest inheres in avoiding the risk of a Chief Executive's distraction arising from disclosure of documents reflecting his private financial transactions," the Second Circuit Court of Appeals panel wrote in the decision.
Like similar cases dealing with efforts by Congress and prosecutors in New York City to subpoena the President's tax returns from his accounting firm, Mazar's, this decision extended a legal losing streak for Mr. Trump.
Two cases over subpoenas for the President's tax returns have already reached the U.S. Supreme Court - and this case involving Deutsche Bank and Capital One could follow as well.
Mr. Trump's legal fight over his tax returns could be reviewed by the Justices in coming days.
On November 25, the court temporarily delayed an order to Mazar's to abide by a subpoena from Congress for the President's tax returns.
The Justices must decide whether to hear the case, or allowing the lower court order to go into effect.
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