patrick.net

President Trump and his businesses are suing House Oversight Committee Chairman Elijah Cummings to block a congressional subpoena to obtain the president’s financial records.

“House Democrats are singularly obsessed with finding something they can use to damage the President politically,” Trump’s lawyers wrote in the complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

Last week Cummings, D-Md., subpoenaed Trump’s longtime accountant Mazars USA for 10 years of the president’s financial records.


Cummings originally requested the information from Mazars in March after Trump’s former longtime attorney Michael Cohen testified that the president misrepresented his assets. Cummings asked for Mazars to provide financial reports and communications between Trump and the accounting firm.

The lawsuit escalates a standoff between Trump and Democrats in the House.

In the filing, Trump’s lawyers argued Congress only has the authority to conduct oversight and investigations in order to enact legislation.

“Investigations are legitimate only insofar as they further some legitimate legislative purpose,” they said, also accusing Cummings of overstepping his authority by “assuming the powers of the Department of Justice.”