House Oversight Committee Chairman Elijah Cummings has requested 10-years worth of President Donald Trump’s financial records from an accounting company that prepared several years of financial statements for the President, after his former lawyer publicly accused Trump of inflating his worth to mislead his lenders and insurers.
In a letter by Cummings to the chairman and chief executive of the audit firm, circulated on Wednesday, the House panel asked for copies of “statements of financial condition” and audits prepared for Trump and several of his companies, The Washington Post writes. Cummings’ committee also requests that the firm, Mazars USA, provide supporting documents used to produce those reports.
The request grabbed the attention of the public after GOP members of the panel complained to the CEO of the audit firm that Cumming’s request was not made in consultation, has no “valid legislative purpose and instead seems to seek information to embarrass a private individual.”
The committee chairman defended his request, saying that if Republicans “had their way, the committee would just close up shop for the next two years,” and added that they were only seeking the truth.
“We are following up on specific allegations regarding the President’s actions based on corroborating documents obtained by the Committee, and we will continue our efforts to conduct credible, robust, and independent oversight.”
Cummings’ request follows shortly after Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen testified before the panel, providing copies of financial statements for 2011, 2012 and 2013 which he claimed had been sent to Trump’s insurers in an attempt to lower Trump’s premiums by reassuring lenders about his ability to pay them. Cohen further maintained that the President would often inflate the values of his commercial buildings and deflate his assets to pay less in taxes.
Politico, which first reported the news, writes that Cummings revealed in his letter to Mazars USA that the company signed the President’s financial statements. Mazars refused to comment.
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