Questions presented
SCOTUS records, cert granted 13 Dec 2019
Whether three committees of the House of Representatives had the constitutional and statutory authority to issue subpoenas to third-party custodians for the personal records of the sitting President of the United States.
Opinion summary
Etalia.ai summary of the majority opinion
The case involved subpoenas issued by the House of Representatives to Deutsche Bank and Capital One for financial records related to President Donald Trump, his family, and their businesses. The House committees sought these documents as part of investigations into potential foreign influence in U.S. elections and possible conflicts of interest involving the president. Trump's legal team argued that the subpoenas lacked a legitimate legislative purpose and infringed on presidential privacy rights. The Supreme Court ruled that while Congress has broad authority to issue subpoenas, it must demonstrate a clear connection between its requests for information and its legislative objectives when dealing with personal records of a sitting president.
Opinion written by Justice Roberts
Decided 9 Jul 2020 · Official report