Washington, Aug 12 (TIWN) A US federal judge has ruled that a House panel's subpoena seeking former President Donald Trump's financial records covering eight years was overly intrusive, but that lawmakers could justifiably obtain two years' worth of similar information from his accountants.

On Wednesday, Judge Amit Mehta of the US District Court for the District of Columbia ruled in his 53-page decision that the objectives identified in the House Oversight and Reform Committee’s subpoena, first issued in April 2019 and renewed by Chair Carolyn Maloney in March this year after the previous one expired, “present only a limited need for President Trump’s financial records”, and thus “cannot justify the degree to which the Maloney Subpoena imposes on the separation of powers”.  “The more Congress can invade the personal sphere of a former President, the greater the leverage Congress would have on a sitting President,” Xinhua news agency quoted the Judge as further saying.