Judge rules against Trump, paves way for banks to provide his business records to Congress

[webfact]

Judge rules against Trump, paves way for banks to provide his business records to Congress

By Brendan Pierson

 

FILE PHOTO: U.S. President Donald Trump reacts as he speaks at the Wounded Warrior Project Soldier Ride event after the release of Special Counsel Robert Mueller's report, in the East Room of the White House in Washington, U.S., April 18, 2019. REUTERS/Carlos Barria/File Photo

 

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump, three of his children and the Trump Organization on Wednesday lost their bid to block Deutsche Bank AG and Capital One Financial Corp from providing financial records to Democratic lawmakers investigating Trump's businesses.

 

In a decision read from the bench after hearing arguments, 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 subpoenas issued to them by two U.S. House of Representatives committees last month.

 

The committees have agreed not to enforce the subpoenas for seven days, the judge said. It was the second time in three days that a judge had ruled against the Republican president in his fight with Democrats and Trump's lawyers were expected to appeal both decisions.

 

Ramos said he would not suspend his decision pending appeal.

 

Some Democratic lawmakers welcomed the decision.

 

"So far, I think the president would be wise to come to the realization that our legitimate areas of inquiry are going to be supported by the courts," Representative Dan Kildee, a Michigan Democrat and member of the House Ways and Means Committee, told Reuters in an interview.

 

Representative Brad Sherman, a Democratic member of the financial services committee, was more cautious, telling Reuters in an interview that he expected the decision would be appealed.

 

Asked if lawmakers should be satisfied that they will get the information they seek, Sherman said, "I'll believe it when I see it out of the U.S. Supreme Court."

 

The White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Deutsche Bank said it would abide by the court's decision. Capital One did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

 

Trump, who is seeking re-election next year, has aggressively sought to defy congressional oversight of his administration since Democrats took control of the House in January.

 

Ramos said that the committees had the power to issue the subpoenas under Congress' "broad" power to conduct investigations to further legislation. He also rejected Trump's argument that they were barred by a federal financial privacy law, the Right to Financial Privacy Act, saying the law does not apply to congressional investigations.

 

Trump said last month that the administration was "fighting all the subpoenas" issued by the House, hardening his position after the release of a redacted report from Special Counsel Robert Mueller on how Russia interfered in the 2016 U.S. election to help Trump and on the president's attempts to impede the investigation.

 

"We remain committed to providing appropriate information to all authorized investigations and will abide by a court order regarding such investigations," Deutsche Bank spokeswoman Kerrie McHugh said in an emailed statement after the ruling.

 

Lawyers for the Trump family members and the Trump Organization declined to comment on the decision.

 

Some parts of the subpoenas have been included in court filings. The subpoena on Deutsche Bank seeks extensive records of accounts, transactions and investments linked to Trump, his three oldest children, their immediate family members 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 and a 2017 disclosure form showed that Trump had at least $130 million of liabilities to the bank.

 

The subpoena on Capital One seeks records related to multiple entities tied to the Trump Organization's hotel business. In March, before issuing their subpoena, Democratic lawmakers asked Capital One for documents concerning potential conflicts of interest tied to Trump's Washington hotel and other business interests since he became president in January 2017.

 

Trump, his adult children, Donald Jr., Eric and Ivanka, and the Trump Organization had sought a preliminary injunction to prevent Deutsche Bank complying with the subpoenas from the House Financial Services Committee and the House Intelligence Committee, and Capital One from complying with a subpoena from the Financial Services Committee.

 

In a lawsuit filed on April 29, lawyers for the Trumps argued that the subpoenas were too broad, and that Democrats are hoping they will "stumble upon something" that could be used for political attacks on the president.

 

Patrick Strawbridge, a lawyer for Trump, said at Wednesday's hearing that the subpoenas were "the epitome of an inquiry into private or personal matters," and that the House committees were reaching beyond their role as legislators.

 

Douglas Letter, a lawyer for the committees, said the subpoenas were part of a "very serious investigation on behalf of the American people" that could lead to legislation aimed at reducing foreign influence in U.S. politics. He denied that it was intended to target Trump personally.

 

"He clearly sees us as some sort of nuisance," Letter said.

 

The banks are the only defendants in the case, but the House committees intervened to oppose Trump's effort to block the subpoenas.

 

Representative Maxine Waters, who chairs the House Financial Services Committee, told reporters after the lawsuit was filed that Trump had "cast a gauntlet." "We will fight him," she said.

 

On Monday, a federal judge in Washington ruled against the president in a similar case, finding that Trump's accounting firm, Mazars LLP, must comply with a congressional subpoena for Trump's financial records.

 

U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta found that Congress was "not engaged in a fishing expedition" for the President's financial records when it subpoenaed Mazars and said that documents obtained might assist Congress in passing laws and performing other core functions.

 

Trump called Mehta's decision "crazy" and "totally the wrong decision by obviously an Obama-appointed judge," referring to Trump's Democratic predecessor, Barack Obama. Ramos, the judge in the New York case, was also appointed by Obama.

 

(Reporting by Brendan Pierson in New York; additional reporting by Matt Scuffham in New York and Jeff Mason and Susan Cornwell in Washington; Editing by Noeleen Walder, Grant McCool and James Dalgleish)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2019-05-23

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[Chomper Higgot]

Helping Trump become what he claims he is:

 

’The most transparent President ever’

 

 

[Tug]

Bring it on!!!you know he is nervous look at his tantrum today over infrastructure stop looking at me or I won’t play waaaaaa

[quandow]

Pelosi is repeatedly using language like "coverup" and "impeachment." It's gonna happen, now sooner than later. THANKS Donald!

[Kasane]

Wow. This guy is toast. The greatest, biggest, meanest toast ever. 

[geoffbezoz]

2 minutes ago, Kasane said:

Wow. This guy is toast. The greatest, biggest, meanest toast ever. 

But he is mad enough to invoke actions against Iran to distract those at home.

[neeray]

I guess having his laundry done in public is going to be pretty embarrassing for him. All those lies and bullshit are going to see the Javex bleach force him to come somewhat clean (operative word here is "somewhat"). "Are we tired of winning yet"?

[mtls2005]

trump doesn't fare well in the courts, has he ever won a case, either as a "businessman" or as "president".

 

The "Mazars" case: Trump v. Committee on Oversight and Reform is being appealed in the Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, Merrick Garland, you're up.

 

 In Trump v. Deutsche Bank AG (this thread, yes I know it's hard to keep up without a scorecard - The Godfather 1 was less confusing) he's lost.

 

The taxes will have to be released, or maybe he can incinerate them first?

 

And New York state legislature voted to make Trump tax returns available. 

 

 

Stick a fork in him, he's cooked.

 

He may have to do a Snowden runner.

 

 

 

 

[Pedrogaz]

This might get interesting. I said all along forget the Russian fiasco when was baloney, and focus on Trump's financial dealings and taxes paid if you want impeachable material (aren't I super clever! ????

 

I wonder if there will be the inevitable appeal, followed by appeal, followed by appeal, to run the clock down by 6 years or so?

 

[mtls2005]

5 minutes ago, Pedrogaz said:

I wonder if there will be the inevitable appeal, followed by appeal, followed by appeal, to run the clock down by 6 years or so?

 

No.

 

We are closer to the end, very close. Probably a resignation before 19 January 2021. 

 

Using the courts only works if they participate, even if only slow-rolling appeals. And they won't do that as it will only make things look worse. They will expedite appeals.

 

Sorry for the reality check.

 

 

[lannarebirth]

The democratic institutions which many claim are being eroded, win again. Actually, the past 20 years or so when everyone was on the same page, including the credulous media was a much more dangerous time. Democracy works best in an adversarial environment. At least it does when it is understood that you find some common ground in the end.

[Chomper Higgot]

54 minutes ago, neeray said:

I guess having his laundry done in public is going to be pretty embarrassing for him. All those lies and bullshit are going to see the Javex bleach force him to come somewhat clean (operative word here is "somewhat"). "Are we tired of winning yet"?

This for Trump is the big issue.

 

He’s a narcissist who has never once in his life been held to account.

 

There is absolutely nothing more eviscerating to a narcissist than having the fabric of lies they present and the fake persona they project torn apart.

 

Trump’s image is being ripped apart on the biggest, brightest glare of the media and public.

 

He’s in a world of hurt and it’s getting worse for him.

 

Prepare for his extinction burst, it’s going to be spectacular.

[helpisgood]

3 hours ago, webfact said:

lawyers for the Trumps argued that the subpoenas were too broad, and that Democrats are hoping they will "stumble upon something" that could be used for political attacks on the president.

 

Let's see: there's the proposed Trump Tower in Moscow; the infamous Trump Tower meeting with Don, Jr., the Russian lawyer (Veselnitskaya), et al.; and I am sure other events can be included.  On top of that is Trump's infamous Helsinki presser when he sided with Putin against his own intelligence community in front of the world, the private meeting(s) with Putin without any other Americans, that meeting in (of all places) the Oval Office with a smiling Trump with his buddies, Kislyak and Lavrov, and ad nauseam. 

 

Meanwhile, Trump's attorneys had to stand in front of a court and argue that Congress was merely hoping to "stumble upon something" as if no one is following the news.  The Trump lawyers must be getting paid very well to say all of that with serious looks on their faces.  I'd ask for an extra fee, if I were them.

 

3 hours ago, webfact said:

Patrick Strawbridge, a lawyer for Trump, said at Wednesday's hearing that the subpoenas were "the epitome of an inquiry into private or personal matters," and that the House committees were reaching beyond their role as legislators. [Bold added.]

 

Mr. Strawbridge may be up for an Academy Award for having the gumption to make that argument. 

 

3 hours ago, webfact said:

U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta found that Congress was "not engaged in a fishing expedition" for the President's financial records when it subpoenaed Mazars [Bold added.]

No kidding!! 

 

The whole affair is farcical and a waste of the Court's time.  If it wasn't real, it would be funny.  All that is missing is a "friend of the court" brief on Trump's behalf by the Russians.  (There wasn't one, right?)

 

Just to put a cherry on top, the president then said that he lost the case because the judge was an "Obama-appointed judge."  The Chief Justice of the US Supreme Court, John Roberts, a George W. Bush (Republican) nominee, has already scolded Trump (or as close as he could as a chief justice) for such remarks by saying, among other things: "That [an] independent judiciary is something we should all be thankful for.”

 

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/21/us/politics/trump-chief-justice-roberts-rebuke.html

 

Yes, Trump lacks, if he has any, respect for the institutions of law in the USA.  It is obvious that his apparently nefarious business dealings are more important than his role as president.  

[atyclb]

36 minutes ago, Chomper Higgot said:

There is absolutely nothing more eviscerating to a narcissist than having the fabric of lies they present and the fake persona they project torn apart.

 

 

cool, just like the william wallace/mel gibson/ braveheart evisceration scene.

[neeray]

20 minutes ago, helpisgood said:

Let's see: there's the proposed Trump Tower in Moscow; the infamous Trump Tower meeting with Don, Jr., the Russian lawyer (Veselnitskaya), et al.; and I am sure other events can be included.  On top of that is Trump's infamous Helsinki presser when he sided with Putin against his own intelligence community in front of the world, the private meeting(s) with Putin without any other Americans, that meeting in (of all places) the Oval Office with a smiling Trump with his buddies, Kislyak and Lavrov, and ad nauseam. 

"On top of that is Trump's infamous Helsinki presser when he sided with Putin against his own intelligence community in front of the world"

 

True. But what always stood out to me was how he tried (under guidance) to back peddle out of this shortly after by attempting to change a word ("I meant to say"). Only a total fool would think he could pull the wool over people's eyes with that one. But then .......

[Thaidream]

33 minutes ago, Chomper Higgot said:

This for Trump is the big issue.

 

He’s a narcissist who has never once in his life been held to account.

 

There is absolutely nothing more eviscerating to a narcissist than having the fabric of lies they present and the fake persona they project torn apart.

 

Trump’s image is being ripped apart on the biggest, brightest glare of the media and public.

 

He’s in a world of hurt and it’s getting worse for him.

 

Prepare for his extinction burst, it’s going to be spectacular.

Agree.  Slowly but surely the screws are being tightened on Trump.  

 

I give Pelosi credit- she recognizes Impeachment now would do little as conviction is impossible  (need 67 Senate votes for).  Trump would use this  'win' to exonerate himself

 

The key to ridding America of Trump is to go after his  money or lack of it- via his tax returns; using the emolument  clause of the constitution and continue to use the courts to push him to the brink.

 

At some point when Trump has no 'wiggle room' he will be visited by the Republican leaders and be given the word- resign or face conviction. 

 

The fear is that while all of the above moves forward- Trump can do a lot of damage- especially push America into war and there  is no cabinet official who will stand up to him and refuse to carry  out  orders that are clearly illegal. He has already indicated by his actions today that he will refuse to negotiate with Democrats on critical Government business.

 

The greatest threat America faces is Donald Trump.

 

[utalkin2me]

Paved the way means nothing. He will never release them. That is how things work. If you have money and power the laws basically do not apply. A little guy does not comply and in two seconds he is being handcuffed. 

 

I am so sick of it. Really. 

[Chomper Higgot]

1 minute ago, utalkin2me said:

Paved the way means nothing. He will never release them. That is how things work. If you have money and power the laws basically do not apply. A little guy does not comply and in two seconds he is being handcuffed. 

 

I am so sick of it. Really. 

Hold on a while longer, you are about to receive some refreshing news. 

 

Trump is going to be nailed. 

[Oxx]

Wells Fargo and TD Bank have already handed over documents.

 

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/wells-fargo-td-bank-have-already-given-trump-related-financial-n1007181

[Scutty]

He will be where he belongs very soon we all hope ....IN JAIL .

[Scutty]

This guy is crazy dangerous enough to start a war against Iran just to distract public attention from his monstrous lies and corruption .

[Chomper Higgot]

Trump's play on his finances and taxes.....

 

'Yes officer, I know you've got a warrant but I'm not going to let you look in the loft'.

 

 

As Trump himself says, 'the most transparent President ever'.

 

[utalkin2me]

20 minutes ago, Chomper Higgot said:

Hold on a while longer, you are about to receive some refreshing news. 

 

Trump is going to be nailed. 

About like he got nailed with all the "grabbing pussy" recordings. I just love to grab me sum pussaay! They love it too by the way.

 

Nailed somethin like that, better or worse? 

 

Lord knows i hope you are right, but you wont be. Watch. It will be delays or whatever. 

[utalkin2me]

23 minutes ago, Oxx said:

Wells Fargo and TD Bank have already handed over documents.

 

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/wells-fargo-td-bank-have-already-given-trump-related-financial-n1007181

Look, that sounds good on the surface. 

 

You gotta be thinking that he is the most powerful man on earth, with the best lawyers and advisers and almost unlimited money and resouces. 

 

What do you think looks really good for Trump? To have a few records "get released" that do not make you look bad. Then you look great. 

 

I have not even clicked the link, I hope I am wrong when i do! 

[lannarebirth]

28 minutes ago, Oxx said:

Wells Fargo and TD Bank have already handed over documents.

 

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/wells-fargo-td-bank-have-already-given-trump-related-financial-n1007181

 

I think you may find evidence of Trump doing business with Russians, but I doubt very much that these bamks will hand over evidence that they were involved in money laundering. It's important to bear in mind that the bank is the cut out. THEY are the facilitator of money laundering (if it has occured), and if it has it will more than likely have been from the Russian side. Deutsche Bank has quite a history of this activity but truthfully almost all international banks do it.

[Chomper Higgot]

8 minutes ago, lannarebirth said:

 

I think you may find evidence of Trump doing business with Russians, but I doubt very much that these bamks will hand over evidence that they were involved in money laundering. It's important to bear in mind that the bank is the cut out. THEY are the facilitator of money laundering (if it has occured), and if it has it will more than likely have been from the Russian side. Deutsche Bank has quite a history of this activity but truthfully almost all international banks do it.

Deutsche Bank have already confessed to and paid massive fines for laundering money for Russians. Fact on public record.

 

The only thing DB need do now is handover all information requested under Subpoena and explain why, when the person in charge of monitoring for and reporting money laundering raised concerns over transactions in and out of Trump and Kushner's accounts, the bank's senior management chose to let it continue and not to report it to the banking regulator.

 

[klauskunkel]

5 hours ago, webfact said:

I think the president would be wise

Stop right there. That adjective has no business whatsoever in relation to Mr. Trump. Even if he reaches 150 years of age, he will never achieve wisdom. Ever.

[mtls2005]

5 hours ago, Chomper Higgot said:

’The most transparent President ever’

 

To which Seth Meyers responded, "Yes, we can see right through you."

 

 

[Ulic]

The skeletons will be removed from the closet one at a time. The sad thing is many Americans just don't really care. 

[Guest Jerry787]

we see why he want wage wars in siria, iran and trade wars with china, because at home its under fire and need to move the media attentions somewhere else.