US District Judge to hear Trump's subpoena case over finances next week

An Indian-American judge has fast-tracked the case of US President Donald Trump's challenge of a subpoena by Congress over financial records of his accounting firm, saying he will decide the full case after a hearing next week, according to a media report. US District Judge Amit P. Mehta made his announcement Thursday in a brief notice to both sides after receiving a first round of written arguments in the case.

Mehta said that he will decide the full case and not just whether to temporarily block the subpoena while the case proceeds, after a hearing on May 14, The Washington Post reported. A subpoena is a written order, mostly by a court, ordering a person to testify. The judge, an Obama appointee confirmed in 2014, gave all sides until Monday to file any further comments ahead of oral arguments previously set for Tuesday in Washington. The announcement means that any appeal of a decision in the case could reach an appeals court by the summer, the report said.

The lawsuit over the subpoena is one of a growing number of efforts by the president to shield his personal finances from investigators, including congressional Democrats, state lawmakers and regulators, looking into aspects of his life and business, the report said. House Oversight Chairman Elijah Cummings issued the subpoena to Mazars, which compiled Trump's financial disclosure forms, over questions about whether Trump manipulated his net worth, the CNN reported.

Trump's former lawyer Michael Cohen provided the committee with three years of financial statements prepared by Mazars, in which Cohen says Trump inflated his wealth while he was attempting to purchase the National Football League's Buffalo Bills. Cohen, who reported to federal prison for a three year sentence earlier this week, has accused Trump of financial fraud. The House Financial Services and Intelligence Committees are also investigating the President's finances and have delivered subpoenas to Deutsche Bank, Capitol One and other major banks.

(With inputs from agencies.)