NEW YORK _ President Donald Trump lost a bid Tuesday to block congressional committees from obtaining his financial records from his longtime lender, Deutsche Bank.
The 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the subpoenas from the House's Financial Services Committee and Intelligence Committee were well within Congress's authority. Subpoenas were also served on Capital One Bank.
"The public interest in vindicating the Committees' constitutional authority is clear and substantial. It is the interest of two congressional committees ... to obtain information on enforcement of anti-money-laundering/counter-financing of terrorism laws, terrorist financing, the movement of illicit funds through the global financial system including the real estate market, the scope of the Russian government's operations to influence the U.S. political process, and whether the Lead Plaintiff was vulnerable to foreign exploitation," Judge Jon Newman wrote.
The lead plaintiff in the case is Trump, who sued in his personal capacity.
Democrats in Congress have said they need the records as part of an investigation into Russian oligarchs using U.S. banks to launder money. The probe could also reveal whether Russians have leverage over Trump, they say.
The ruling did slightly narrow the score of the subpoenas to avoid disclosure of "sensitive personal information" of Trump's family. The decision largely upholds a lower court ruling that found Trump's legal arguments were "not sufficiently serious."
