DEMS/LEGAL/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP BUSINESS: “Democrats from the House Oversight Committee, stonewalled by the Trump administration and fuming at their Republican colleagues, sued the General Services Administration on Thursday [11-2-17] to try to force the release of documents relating to its lease with the Trump International Hotel here.
The suit, which has little legal precedent, is likely to be a key test of Democrats’ ability to force oversight of the Trump administration without control of committees or subpoena power in either chamber of Congress. They have accused Republicans who control both of neglecting their responsibility to hold the administration to account.
A victory in court would grant the lawmakers immediate access to government documents related to the hotel’s operations and lease that they say would shed light on its finances, possible foreign payments to the hotel and the G.S.A.’s ruling that the hotel did not violate the terms of its lease when President Trump took office. A favorable ruling would also open a fruitful avenue for Oversight Committee Democrats to use on other issues.”
-Nicholas Fandos, “House Democrats Take Demands for Trump Hotel Records to Court,” The New York Times online, Nov. 2, 2017