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Trumps Seek to Block Subpoena for Deutsche Bank Records

Trumps argued if probes were allowed, “nonstop investigations into personal lives of presidents” will become “the new normal”.

Trumps Seek to Block Subpoena for Deutsche Bank Records
U.S. President Donald Trump applauds while walking to Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S. (Photographer: Pete Marovich/Bloomberg)

(Bloomberg) -- President Donald Trump again asked a judge to block subpoenas directing Deutsche Bank AG and Capital One Financial Corp. to turn over his bank records, as well as those of his three oldest children and some Trump businesses.

The Trumps sued in Manhattan federal court last month to block the banks from complying with the subpoenas, issued by two committees of the Democrat-controlled House of Representatives. The action is part of a broader effort by the president to try to block or delay potentially embarrassing House investigations as he runs for re-election next year.

In a court filing Wednesday, the Trumps again asked U.S. District Judge Edgardo Ramos to block the subpoenas until he can make a final ruling on their legality, arguing that the demands for evidence are motivated by improper political considerations. The filing is the first since the Trump side was permitted to see the subpoenas themselves and includes arguments tailored to the specific document demands.

“Never before has Congress used its investigatory powers to rifle through the private financial information of a sitting president, his family and his businesses,” the Trumps argued in the filing.

They argued that letting the demands go forward would mean that “nonstop investigations into the personal lives of presidents” will become “the new normal.” They also claimed it would set a precedent for Congress to subpoena anyone’s financial records without a valid reason.

Ramos has scheduled a hearing for May 22 where he’ll hear argument from both sides on the Trump’s request for a preliminary injunction.

The two banks, which are named as defendants in the case, are mostly sitting on the sidelines, waiting to comply with whatever the judge orders, as the Trumps and the two House committees, the Committee on Financial Services and the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, fight over the subpoenas.

The case is Trump v. Deutsche Bank AG, 19-cv-03826, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York (Manhattan).

To contact the reporter on this story: Bob Van Voris in federal court in Manhattan at rvanvoris@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: David Glovin at dglovin@bloomberg.net, Steve Stroth

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