UPDATE: CNN reports the House Intelligence Committee now has all the Fusion GPS bank records it had subpoenaed.
TD Bank "has produced all remaining responsive documents" to the House Intelligence Committee under the terms of a confidential settlement, a lawyer for the House wrote Friday afternoon.
(...)
Judge Richard Leon denied Fusion GPS's request to stay his earlier ruling pending an appeal because the House said it already had the documents being requested.
Bank turns over disputed Fusion GPS records to Congress (CNN)
On Thursday, U.S. District Court Judge Richard Leon ruled that Fusion GPS – the opposition research firm that hired Christopher Steele and ultimately produced the Trump dossier – must turn over bank records to the House Intelligence Committee as requested by Chairman Devin Nunes (R-CA).
The firm asked the federal judge on Friday to stay his ruling because it plans to appeal the decision.
CNN:
"There is a significant risk of leaks from the investigation, and leaks have already resulted in retaliation against a senior Justice Department attorney whose wife, a Russia expert, has done work for Fusion in the past," Fusion's lawyers wrote in a court document filed Friday. The Justice Department attorney was Bruce Ohr, who was demoted amid the discovery of certain meetings with Fusion GPS founder Glenn Simpson and Christopher Steele, the former British intelligence officer who assembled the dossier.
"The threat of retaliatory disclosure of confidential information in the records is not just theoretical, it is part of a pattern and an underlying purpose of the subpoena," the lawyers wrote.
But Judge Leon said granting the House committee's request would not be problematic.
“Although the records sought by the Subpoena are sensitive in nature — and merit the use of appropriate precautions by the Committee to ensure they are not publicly disclosed — the nature of the records themselves, and the Committee’s procedures designed to ensure their confidentiality, more than adequately protect the sensitivity of that information,” the judge added.
Fusion GPS lawyer Theodore Boutrous Jr. reiterated the charge that House Republicans seem determined to divert and derail the investigation into Russian election interference.
"Instead of focusing its efforts on Russian meddling in the presidential election, the Committee continues to misuse its investigatory powers to punish and smear Fusion GPS for its role in uncovering troubling ties between Russia and the Trump campaign."
The House Intelligence Committee subpoenaed "70 records with Fusion GPS's bank, TD Bank" "even after three of the firm's clients -- the law firm Perkins Coie (which was connected to the Democratic National Committee), the law firm Baker & Hostetler (which worked for Russian company Prevezon) and the conservative-leaning Washington Free Beacon -- were made public."
Nunes signed the original subpoena on October 4, 2017 while still was under investigation by the House Ethics Committee. Fusion's legal team responded at the time by asking for a restraining order and arguing the request was unauthorized, intrusive, and politically motivated.
"This overly broad subpoena for Fusion’s bank records serves no legitimate investigative purpose and is designed to punish President Trump’s political foes while chilling future investigative research into his actions," [prominent white-collar defense attorney William] Taylor said in a statement. "It is an abuse of authority by a chairman already under ethics investigation who supposedly recused himself from work related to Russia's involvement in the last election. This action should concern anyone who might ever oppose this or any future president of either political party.”
Judge: House panel entitled to Fusion GPS bank records (Politico)
Fusion GPS fighting order to turn over bank records (CNN)
Dossier fight could be first legal test for Hill Russia probes (Politico)