Factbox: Clash between Trump, U.S. House
Democrats shifts into courts
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[June 19, 2019]
(Reuters) - President Donald Trump's
conflict with U.S. House Democrats over their many investigations of
him, his family and businesses is beginning to move from Capitol Hill
into the U.S. courts, where some key cases are already developing.
Trump and most of his fellow Republicans dismiss the Democrats'
inquiries as grandstanding or political harassment.
The Democrats, who control the House of Representatives, say the
investigations are needed to hold to account a president who scorns
respect for the law and governing norms.
In most of the disputes, Trump and his advisers run the legal risk of
contempt of Congress citations and court enforcement actions that could
result in fines.
Here are some of the conflicts between Congress and Trump that are being
litigated or could end up in court.
MAZARS ACCOUNTING FIRM
In a win for House Democrats, a federal judge on May 20 said Mazars LLP,
Trump's long-time accounting firm, should hand over Trump's financial
records to congressional investigators.
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Lawyers for Trump asserted that a subpoena seeking the records was
unlawful because Congress was improperly taking on a law enforcement
role.
Democrats on the House Oversight Committee said they needed the
documents to examine whether Trump faces conflicts of interest or broke
the law by not disentangling himself from his businesses as previous
presidents have done.
Trump called the judge's decision "crazy" and appealed. An appeals court
will hold an oral argument on July 12.
DEUTSCHE BANK, CAPITAL ONE
Another judge ruled against Trump in a similar case involving banks that
Trump did business with - Deutsche Bank AG and Capital One Financial.
Two House committees sent subpoenas to the banks and, as in the Mazars
case, Trump sued to try to block them, arguing that the committees were
reaching beyond their legislative role.
U.S. District Judge Edgardo Ramos in New York said Congress has the
legal authority to demand the records, clearing the way for the banks to
comply with the subpoenas.
The Deutsche Bank subpoena seeks accounts, transactions and investments
linked to Trump, his three oldest children, their immediate family and
several Trump Organization entities, as well as records of ties they
might have to foreign entities.
Deutsche Bank has long been a principal lender for Trump's real estate
business. A 2017 disclosure form showed that Trump had at least $130
million of liabilities to the bank.
The Capital One subpoena seeks records related to the Trump
Organization's hotel business, which some Democrats have argued raises
potential conflicts of interest.
An appeals court will hold oral arguments in August.
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TAX RETURNS
Unlike past presidents in recent decades, Trump refuses to make public
his tax returns, raising questions about what is in them. Treasury
Secretary Steven Mnuchin has defied a subpoena from the House tax
committee seeking six years of Trump's past individual and business tax
returns.
Committee Chairman Richard Neal said on May 23 that he plans to take the
Trump administration to court to enforce the subpoena, but he has not
followed through.
Trump's Justice Department said in a June 14 legal opinion that Mnuchin
did not violate the law by refusing to turn over the tax returns. A
judge could opt to ignore that Justice Department memo in the event of a
legal battle.
MUELLER REPORT
Attorney General William Barr released a redacted version on April 18 of
a report from Special Counsel Robert Mueller on his investigation of
Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. election in Trump's favor and
Trump's attempt to impede that probe.
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President Donald Trump speaks to reporters about border security in
the Briefing Room at the White House in Washington, U.S., January 3,
2019. REUTERS/Carlos Barria/File Photo
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The redactions left unanswered some key questions about Mueller's
probe. Seeking answers, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry
Nadler has subpoenaed the unredacted report and the evidence that
Mueller relied on.
The White House has asserted the seldom-used principle of executive
privilege to keep the full Mueller report under wraps.
On June 10, Nadler cut a deal with Barr to allow committee members
to view some of the materials they want, avoiding a court showdown.
But Nadler said he would not rule out suing Barr if the Justice
Department does not continue to cooperate.
A similar May 22 agreement gave the House Intelligence Committee
access to counterintelligence materials underlying Mueller's report.
House Democrats have also discussed a possible subpoena directing
Mueller to testify about his report.
EMOLUMENTS
In 2017, a group of congressional Democrats sued Trump in Washington
for allegedly accepting gifts or payments from foreign governments
through his businesses, a violation of the anti-corruption
Emoluments Clauses of the Constitution.
In April, a federal judge denied a request by Trump to dismiss that
case.
A similar case, filed by the Democratic attorneys general of the
District of Columbia and Maryland, is making its way through the
courts. An appeals court heard oral arguments in March over whether
that case should have been allowed to proceed.
The Justice Department argues Democrats are reading the Emoluments
Clauses too broadly and that there is nothing new or illegal about a
president engaging in commercial transactions.
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EX-WHITE HOUSE COUNSEL MCGAHN
Nadler has said he may begin legal proceedings to force former White
House counsel Don McGahn to cooperate with the Judiciary Committee's
probe into whether Trump obstructed justice. McGahn failed to show
up to testify at a May 21 hearing, having been told by the White
House not to produce documents in response to a committee subpoena.
McGahn was the most-cited witness in Mueller's report, recounting
Trump's efforts to interfere with the investigation.
The House approved a measure on June 11 that authorized Nadler to
take legal action to enforce the subpoena to McGahn.
CENSUS AND CITIZENSHIP
Trump on June 12 asserted executive privilege to keep under wraps
documents related to his administration’s push to add a citizenship
question to the census, defying a subpoena from the Democratic-led
House Oversight Committee.
That same day, the committee voted to recommend the full House find
Barr and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross in contempt for their
refusal to produce the documents. It was unclear if the committee
would sue to enforce the contempt finding.
(Compiled by Jan Wolfe and Caroline Stauffer; Editing by Kevin
Drawbaugh and Lisa Shumaker)
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