The federal appeals court in the District of Columbia will fast-track proceedings in the fight between President Trump and House Democrats over a subpoena to the president’s accounting firm, the court said Thursday.
In a two-page order, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit set a July 12 date for a three-judge panel to hear oral arguments in the president’s challenge of the subpoena from the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee to Mazars USA, Trump’s accounting firm.
Neomi Rao, whom Trump tapped to the D.C. Circuit, is one of three judges assigned to hear the case. Rao was confirmed to the federal bench this year and filled the seat vacated by Justice Brett Kavanaugh following his appointment to the Supreme Court.
The other two judges on the panel, David Tatel and Patricia Millett, were nominated by Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, respectively.
As a result of the order from the court, Trump’s accounting firm will not yet turn over his financial records to the House panel while the case continues. House Democrats agreed to suspend the deadline set by the subpoena if the D.C. Circuit agreed to take up the dispute. Mazars, meanwhile, will continue to prepare the requested materials.
The House panel subpoenaed Mazars for financial records related to the president and affiliated entities dating back to 2011. The decision to subpoena the firm came after Michael Cohen, Trump’s former lawyer and fixer, testified before the panel this year.
During his appearance, Cohen claimed Trump’s financial statements were altered to falsely show his assets and liabilities. Trump turned over to the committee parts of those documents, some of which were prepared by Mazars.
But Trump sought to block the accounting firm from handing over the documents and argued the Democrat-led committee does not have a legitimate legislative or oversight purpose in demanding the records.
On Tuesday, a federal judge in D.C. declined to block the committee’s subpoena and turned down Trump’s request to temporarily halt the order pending appeal.
Trump, House Democrats, and Mazars on Wednesday jointly requested an expedited hearing from the D.C. Circuit, speeding up a case that could make its way to the Supreme Court.
The legal battle is being closely watched, as House Democrats, now in control, have called for third parties to turn over documents related to Trump’s finances and business dealings. Trump, however, has vowed to fight all subpoenas from his political rivals.
