Audio By Carbonatix
US President Donald Trump has sued two banks in a bid to stop them handing over his financial records to Congress.
The lawsuit against Deutsche Bank and Capital One was filed after Democrat-led committees issued subpoenas for information on his finances.
His three eldest children and the Trump Organisation joined the lawsuit, which argues there are no legitimate grounds for investigating his business affairs.
Leading Democrats said they would not be deterred by the blocking attempt.
A Deutsche Bank spokeswoman told the New York Times: "We remain committed to providing appropriate information to all authorized investigations."
There was no immediate comment from Capital One.
What does the Trump lawsuit say?
The lawsuit was filed in New York on Monday and aims to block the banks from complying with the subpoenas issued by the Democrat-controlled Congress, which is investigating the Trump family's financial dealings.
Both banks are involved with Mr Trump's real estate projects.
The filing says the subpoenas "have no legitimate or lawful purpose".
"[They] were issued to harass President Donald J. Trump, to rummage through every aspect of his personal finances, his businesses, and the private information of the president and his family," it alleges.
It adds: "No grounds exist to establish any purpose other than a political one."
The filing also says that Democrats are hoping "they will stumble upon something they can expose publicly and use as a political tool against the President".
Mr Schiff and fellow Democrat Maxine Waters, the chairwoman of the Financial Services Commission, described the lawsuit as "meritless".
"[It shows] the depths to which President Trump will go to obstruct Congress's constitutional oversight authority," they said in a joint statement.
"He will find that Congress will not be deterred from carrying out its constitutional responsibilities," it adds.
In 2017, the bank rejected requests by Democrats in the House of Representatives to provide details of the president's finances, citing privacy laws.
That year it was also reported that special counsel Robert Mueller, who led the investigation into alleged collusion between the Trump presidential campaign and Russia, had ordered Deutsche Bank to provide records of Mr Trump's accounts.
Latest Stories
-
16 arrested, 4 printing hubs busted in major counterfeit currency crackdown
4 hours -
Sir Jim Ratcliffe suspends production at key UK plants blaming high gas prices
5 hours -
Major US outlets suspend shared Trump coverage in protest at media ban
5 hours -
Trump says he would back ban on diesel exports
5 hours -
Lekzy DeComic to feature four generations of comedians on upcoming showÂ
5 hours -
Nigeria wins arbitration as Sunrise’s $400 million hydropower claim dismissed
5 hours -
Xhaka under investigation over Covid-19 certificate
5 hours -
FAW chief questions Infantino’s Fifa reform claims
6 hours -
La Liga chief dismisses Real’s ref conspiracy claims
6 hours -
GMA rejects claims its vessel monitoring system is ineffective
6 hours -
I was close to joining Liverpool in 2016 – Mbappe
6 hours -
Ministry of Sports and Recreation holds national validation workshop on National Sports Policy Draft
6 hours -
‘Do you want me to be happy with this poor performance?’ – Bono East Minister fumes over Kintampo market project with less than 1% work done
6 hours -
London screening honours Nkrumah and 103 years of Ghana cinema
6 hours -
Founder’s Day: Is Nkrumah’s glory fading? – Nkrumah’s iconic fountain at Circle runs dry
6 hours