Judge rules Democrats can get some Trump financial records, while shielding others

Washington — A federal judge ruled Wednesday that former President Donald Trump's accounting firm must hand over a portion of a trove of financial documents sought by House Democrats, while ruling that other records about the former president's finances were protected under the separation of powers.

In a 53-page opinion, U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta — who ruled two years ago that the House Oversight Committee was entitled to all of the financial records it requested — ordered that only the documents related to Congress' investigations into the former president's lease of the Trump Hotel in Washington, D.C., and foreign emoluments must be released to the committee.  Mehta ruled that documents pertaining to broader investigations into the former president's financial disclosures, however, are shielded due to the separation of powers concerns.