U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta, an Obama appointed judge has issued a court order that would move up the date for the trial over whether Trump’s Accountants at Mazars USA LLP must turn over Trump’s private records so that Adam Schiff and others can leak the contents.
The judge said there is no reason he can’t decide the case on its merits after the May 14th court date. I suspect that the ruling is going to go against the president and will create a very dangerous precedent. If they can do this to the president of the United States, what can they do to you and me?
“The sole question before the court — is the House Oversight Committee’s issuance of a subpoena to Mazars USA LLP for financial records of President Trump and various associated entities a valid exercise of legislative power? — is fully briefed, and the court can discern no benefit from an additional round of legal arguments,” Mehta wrote. “Nor is there an obvious need to delay ruling on the merits to allow for development of the factual record.”
Mehta’s order gives all sides until Monday afternoon to object to his decision to put the case on the fast track.
The Oversight Committee issued a subpoena to Mazars on April 15 after hearing testimony from Michael Cohen, a onetime Trump confidant. Cohen told the panel that the president and his accountants inflated his assets or omitted liabilities to meet his current needs, like acquiring a new entity or dodging real estate taxes.
In turn, the president sued Mazars and top Democrats on the Oversight Committee to prevent disclosure of the records. Trump and his attorneys say Democrats are pursuing the accounting records as part of a partisan fishing expedition, making the subpoena illegitimate. Congressional subpoenas must be connected to a “legitimate legislative purpose.”