By Viktoria Ristanovic
Nation & World Editor
On April 22, President Donald Trump and his organization filed a lawsuit to prevent U.S. lawmakers from acquiring the president’s financial records from an accounting firm that he used to assemble his financial statements. The accounting firm is Mazars, according to CNN.
According to Reuters, the chairman of the House of Oversight Committee, Elijah Cummings, sent the subpoena to Michael Cohen, Trump’s former lawyer. Cummings claimed Trump “misrepresented his net worth.”
Trump’s current lawyers are deeming the subpoena invalid and “unenforceable,” Reuters reported. They are arguing that the subpoena is exceeding “constitutional limits on the power of Congress to investigate.”
Reuters also reported that the president’s lawyers believe this is a tactic to reveal Trump’s private financial information and statements to expose him and that the information could be used as political ammunition against Trump both presently and in the 2020 election.
According to CNBC, Cummings stated that Trump has long attempted to use baseless lawsuits to go after those who oppose him, but there is there is no authority to interfere with a subpoena from Congress.
William Consovoy, the president’s lawyer in this lawsuit, said that Cummings’ committee’s attempt to “‘acquire private information from their accountants is an abuse of power and an instance of Trump’s political rivals reaching far beyond what they should, CNBC reported.
The Trump Organization is also a plaintiff in the lawsuit. Reuters stated that the president is suing in his own capacity and has a private law firm representing him instead of government lawyers from the U.S. Department of Justice.
CNN stated that the House Intelligence and Financial Services panels have also subpoenaed “nine financial institutions as part of an investigation into Trump's finances.” Trump’s personal lawyers sent letters to companies and the Treasury Department in response to this and warned that they should not release the information.
The case filing reported that the Democrats have sent out more than 100 subpoenas and requests “to anyone with even the most tangential connection to the President,” according to Reuters.
