Trump appeals split decision in fight with U.S. House over financial records

By Susan Heavey and Jan Wolfe

A long-running court fight between Donald Trump and a House of Representatives committee over his financial records is heading back to an appeals court after a judge issued a split decision this week.

In court documents filed on Thursday, Trump’s lawyers and attorneys for the House Oversight Committee both asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to review a decision issued on Wednesday.

In that ruling, U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta said Trump’s accounting firm, Mazars, should turn over some financial documents to the Democratic-led House committee but not all of the records the panel had sought.

Mehta’s ruling came in a long-running lawsuit brought by the House Oversight Committee, which first issued a subpoena for Trump’s financial records in 2019.

The lawsuit was back in Mehta’s courtroom after a trip to the U.S. Supreme Court. In a July 2020 decision, the high court said Mehta needed to redo his legal analysis and weigh the House’s needs for Trump’s financial records against the burden such a request puts on the former president.

Mehta on Wednesday said Mazars should turn over documents relating to Trump’s hotel in Washington, D.C., saying the committee proved that it needed them to evaluate potential legislation and conduct government oversight.

But he did not allow House investigators to see disclosure forms Trump submitted to the government that outlined his assets and liabilities.

Unlike other recent presidents, Trump refused to release his tax returns and other documents that could provide details on his wealth and the activities of his family company, the Trump Organization.

Reuters