Congressional Dems subpoena Trump’s records

WASHINGTON — Congressional Democrats began issuing dozens of subpoenas Monday for financial records and other documents from President Donald Trump’s private entities as part of an ongoing lawsuit alleging that his businesses violate the Constitution’s ban on gifts or payments from foreign governments.

The demands for detailed information about the president’s closely held finances came on the same day the Trump administration asked an appeals court in Washington to halt the lawsuit and block the subpoenas, saying the case is based on “novel and flawed constitutional premises.”

Brought by more than 200 Democrats in Congress, the emoluments lawsuit is one of several legal battles over access to the inner workings of Trump’s businesses.

“We are seeking a targeted set of documents to obtain the information that we need to ensure that the President can no longer shirk his constitutional responsibility,” Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., said.

The 37 subpoenas target information from a wide array of Trump’s businesses, including Trump Tower, his hotels in New York and Washington, and his Mar-aLago Club in south Florida, according to the Constitutional Accountability Center, the legal group representing the Democrats in the case.

The plaintiffs also are seeking information about trademarks granted to Trump’s companies by foreign governments since he entered office and any pending applications for foreign trademarks. Additional subpoenas seek information on tax returns from the president’s companies and the trust where he keeps his businesses while in office.

U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan in late June rejected Trump’s request to stop the lawsuit and ordered the two parties to begin the process of requesting records and other information as part of a threemonth discovery period ending Sept. 27.

In its court filing Monday, the Trump administration officially asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit to issue an order to dismiss the case or at least to put the lawsuit and subpoenas on hold pending review.

The congressional emoluments case, led by Blumenthal and Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., extends beyond the hotel and provides a potential new avenue for investigators to gain access to a broader array of Trump’s finances.

Unlike past presidents, Trump has retained ownership of his private businesses and refused to release his tax returns.

The emoluments provision — barring payments or gifts from foreign governments without prior approval from Congress — was designed to prevent undue influence over the nation’s leaders.