The House Intelligence Committee narrowed its subpoena for President Trump’s financial records on Wednesday, asking for a smaller range of information after the Supreme Court issued criteria last month for the content and purpose of congressional demands.
The new subpoena — issued to Trump’s longtime lender Deutsche Bank — pares down the earlier request to focus only on President Trump and the members of his immediate family involved in managing the Trump Organization: Eric Trump, Donald Trump Jr., and Ivanka Trump.
“The subpoena no longer seeks financial records for any other members of President Trump’s family,” the memo reads.
The Supreme Court laid out a test last month after President Trump fought the subpoena, issued by the House Intelligence Committee for his financial records, for a year through the courts.
The ruling likely delayed any disclosure of President Trump’s financial records until after the November election, while also forcing Congress to narrow the scope of its request.
The opinion itself held that courts should consider four factors when weighing congressional subpoenas that involve a sitting president, including whether or not the information is available in other ways, the breadth of the request, the request’s legislative purpose, and the burden placed on a President by complying with the request.
President Trump is expected to fight the renewed subpoena all over again, as part of his unprecedented campaign to stonewall any and all congressional oversight from House Democrats.
Intelligence Committee chairman Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) wrote in the memorandum that he was seeking the records as part of the ongoing probe into “counterintelligence risks arising from the President’s foreign financial ties, including whether foreign powers possess financial leverage over the President.”
“The Committee’s investigation remains urgent and necessary, particularly in light of the apparent lack of any such inquiry by the Executive Branch,” Rep. Schiff added.
Read the memo here:
Again, wonderful timing, RNC-wise…
Apparently timeliness is not a factor. The subpoena becomes moot in 69 days, and dead on January 3rd.
Why? Really at this point it is an extraordinary act of defiance for Trump to continue to hide his financials. The House asked, Trump said no, then there was a law suit that reached the highest court, the court said “Yo buddy the argument you and your mouthpiece put forward is BS”, court to the House tighten up your request on what records you want. And now here we are, new subpoena, Trump will say no, and the campaign ads are written.
If I were writing a fiction novel, the mobster don character would say:
“There will be delays…I promise you!”
Better late than never, but follow the money because the Trump crime family had been robbing US tax payers shamelessly and relentlessly!
Addendum:
Just a helpful reminder …