Two court decisions this week caused a double blow to Donald Trump when federal appeals judges ruled bankers had to turn over the president’s financial records and a separate judge rejected the DOJ’s request for a stay on testimony from Don McGahn.
The Second Circuit Court of Appeals ruled today that both Capital One and Deutsche Bank must turn over Trump, his children’s and his company’s financial records to Congress.
Yesterday, a U.S. district court judge in Washington D.C. also declined the Department of Justice request to stop or delay former White House Counsel Don McGahn from having to testify before Congress.
The three judges presiding over the appeals court case involving the president’s financial records decided not to block the congressional subpoenas for the documents.
In April, the House Intelligence and Financial Services Committees subpoenaed Capital One and Deutsche Bank to hand over the documents, and Trump attempted to block the decision by appealing the case in August.
Deutsche Bank said in October that it did have some of the documents the House had demanded, but said it does not possess the president’s sought-after tax returns.
Trump has continuously battled Congress and the courts over turning over his tax returns, which critics claim is needed to ensure the president is not engaged in any conflict of interest with his office and businesses.
Another blow came to Trump yesterday when a U.S. District Court ruled that McGahn would need to comply with congressional subpoenas to testify as part of the impeachment proceedings.
‘This Court has no doubt that further delay of the Judiciary Committee’s enforcement of its valid subpoena causes grave harm to both the Committee’s investigation and the interests of the public more broadly,’ U.S. District Judge Kentanji Brown Jackson wrote in a 17-page opinion.
The opinion denies the stay on McGahn testifying before the House Judiciary Committee, and the judge claimed his failure to participate could cause ‘grave harm’ to the investigation.
She also decided to remove a temporary stay she agreed on last week as the case made its way to the U.S. Court of Appeals, even though the DOJ was advocating for a long-term stay.
Jackson said Justice’s chances of winning the appeal were ‘exceedingly low,’ and said last week that the president could not stop McGahn from testifying, adding that ‘Presidents are not kings.’
McGahn’s testimony would be included as part of the impeachment investigation into Trump.
Former special counsel Robert Mueller noted in his Russia report in April that McGahn has knowledge about Trump’s alleged efforts to put a stop to the probe.
Democrats insist that the former White House counsel’s testimony could determine if they want to include the allegations outlined in the Mueller report in potential articles of impeachment.
The DOJ has secured a January 3 hearing before a three-judge appeals court panel, which includes two who were appointed by past Republican presidents.