President Donald Trump, his children, and his business organization are launching a series of lawsuits against a couple of banks. “Team Trump” wants to block the banks from providing requested financial records to Congress. With Democrats in charge of the House, investigations are advancing.
The lawsuits mark the second attempt this month to block Democratic efforts to investigate the president’s financial history. The lawsuits were filed in New York’s Southern District, with Deutsche Bank and Capital One being named as defendants. Trump’s attorneys blasted the on-going investigations, arguing, “The subpoenas were issued to harass President Donald J. Trump, to rummage through every aspect of his personal finances, his businesses, and the private information of the President and his family, and to ferret about for any material that might be used to cause him political damage. No grounds exist to establish any purpose other than a political one.”
Last week, President Trump’s legal team had named House Democrats directly in legal proceedings, arguing that the efforts against him were politically motivated. House Oversight Committee chairman Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD) dismissed the accusations. Ever since taking control of the House in 2018, Democrats have sought to use congressional authority to investigate the president.
Congress and presidents frequently fight over access to information. This is true of any administration. However, it is rare for this tussling to actually make its way to court. This time around, the court battles between President Trump and Democrats in the House could become a major storyline. And with the 2020 Presidential election fast approaching, President Trump can’t afford too many bad headlines.
