Will Breyer Side With Trump in Congressional Subpoena Fight?

The U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments yesterday in Trump v. Mazars, a case which asks whether the House Committee on Oversight and Reform overstepped its legal authority in 2019 when it subpoenaed Mazars USA, Donald Trump's longtime accounting firm, demanding eight years of financial records pertaining to Trump and several of his business entities.

In Barenblatt v. United States (1959), the Supreme Court held that "Congress may only investigate into those areas in which it may potentially legislate or appropriate." In Eastland v. U.S. Servicemen's Fund (1975), the Court said that the congressional subpoena power may only be used for a "legitimate legislative purpose."

The House Committee on Oversight and Reform told the Supreme Court that its efforts to acquire Trump's tax records easily satisfied the "legitimate legislative purpose" test. "The election of a President who has decided to maintain his ties to a broad array of business ventures raises questions about the adequacy of existing legislation concerning financial disclosures, government contracts with federal officeholders, and government ethics, more generally," the committee argued. "Whether new legislation on these subjects is needed is a natural subject of Congressional inquiry."