Trump, House Dems both appealing order on financial records

Donald Trump and House Democrats are both appealing a court order requiring the former president’s accountants to turn over some of his financial records while protecting others from disclosure.

U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta on Wednesday instructed Trump’s accountants at Top 100 Firm Mazars USA, to release documents related to the Trump Organization’s lease on a federal building in Washington, as well as information that could shed light on Trump’s dealings with foreign countries. But he stopped short of calling for the handover of all the records the Democrats requested, saying the disclosure of some of the material would raise separation-of-powers concerns.

Lawyers for Trump and the House Democrats both filed notices of appeal on Thursday, saying they will challenge the order at the U.S. Circuit Court in Washington.

The dual appeals will prolong a legal battle that began in 2019, when Democrats on the House Committee on Oversight and Reform issued a subpoena demanding eight years of Trump’s financial records. Trump fought the case all the way to the Supreme Court, which punted it back to the lower courts in Washington.

Al Drago/Photographer: Al Drago/Bloomberg

The Mazars case was one of several long-running efforts by Democrats and local law-enforcement officials to gain access to Trump’s financial records. Last month, the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel ruled that the Treasury Department must turn over his tax returns to a different House committee, although the release of those materials has been delayed as Trump fights the handover in court.

In 2020, the Supreme Court ruled that Trump would have to disclose his tax information to Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance, whose office has since charged the Trump Organization and its chief financial officer, Allen Weisselberg, with tax fraud and other crimes.