A court of appeal validated the request of the elected Democrats, opened before the launching of the procedure of impeachment against the American president.
One more point for the Democrats. A court of appeals confirmed Friday (October 11th) that the US Congress could demand documents on Donald Trump's finances, inflicting a new setback on the Republican president in his standoff with Democratic parliamentarians.
This decision, which can still be appealed to the Supreme Court, is part of a procedure launched before the opening of a parliamentary inquiry for the dismissal of the president. It deals with Donald Trump's affairs before and since his arrival at the White House. Democrats suspect the former real estate mogul of New York to have inflated the value of its assets to obtain loans.
To find out more, in April they ordered his former accounting firm, Mazar, to send them a series of financial documents. The White House, denouncing a " bullying ", had seized the court to block this injunction, as it had already done for other Congressional motions, arguing that it did not need this information to fulfill its role as legislator.
The White House denounces a "partisan" procedure
In May, a Washington judge rejected the White House's reading and felt that these documents could be part of a "Founded investigation". On Friday, the three judges of the court of appeal confirmed this judgment (two against one). "Contrary to the arguments of the president, the commission has jurisdiction under the rules of the House but also the Constitution to issue these injunctions, and Mazar must comply with them", wrote Judge David Tatel.
After taking control of the House of Representatives in January, the Democrats launched a series of investigations into Trump's taxes and finances, and the follow-up to the Russian inquiry. Their investigations ran up against the White House wall in the name of defending "Presidential prerogatives".
On Monday, October 7, a New York judge also found Donald Trump wrong by allowing his tax returns. The President immediately appealed, which suspended the application of the decision.
But the battle has taken on another dimension since the Democrats decided on September 24 to open a procedure for dismissal against the billionaire, whom they suspect of putting pressure on Ukraine to help it smear a rival. Since the elected Democrats multiply injunctions against the State Department, the Minister of Energy, or the personal advocate of Donald Trump … On Tuesday, October 8, the White House refused further cooperation, denouncing a procedure "Partisan and unconstitutional".
