President Donald Trump speaks during a briefing on Hurricane Michael in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, October 10, 2018.
Saul Loeb | AFP | Getty Images
President Donald Trump on Friday asked the Supreme Court to temporarily halt subpoenas for his financial records sent to two banks by congressional Democrats, the latest in a string of court battles over the president’s personal financial dealings to make its way to the justices.
A federal appeals court ruled on Tuesday that Deutsche Bank and Capital One must turn over years of the president’s personal and business financial records to two Democratic-led committees in the House of Representatives. The subpoenas, issued in April, also seek information related to the finances of the president’s family members.
The financial services and intelligence committees have said they are investigating potential overseas money laundering in addition to other matters.
In the application, Trump’s attorneys say the case for granting him a temporary reprieve should be “easy.”
“The idea that the Committees have an urgent need to consider legislation during the short period of time the petition will be under review is implausible,” Trump’s attorney Patrick Strawbridge wrote.
The case resembles two others in which Trump has already obtained temporary stays of lower court rulings requiring the disclosure of his financial records. Those cases involve subpoenas from the House Oversight Committee and Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance to Mazars USA, the president’s longtime accounting firm.
The court could soon say whether it will hear those cases this term, in which case a final decision would be expected by July. The justices are likely to take the cases, which requires the approval of four of them.
If the court grants the president’s request to temporarily halt the Deutsche Bank and Capital One subpoenas, his attorneys will soon be required to ask the justices to review the New York-based 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decision that allowed them, in addition to the other two lower court opinions it is already asking the top court to review concerning his finances.
The president’s application was submitted to Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg because she is assigned to the 2nd Circuit, though it’s possible the full court will vote on the matter.
The Supreme Court currently has a 5-4 conservative majority, including two Trump appointees, Justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh.
The president is the first in more than 40 years to not voluntarily make his tax records public.
