A look at court fights over Trump's financial documents

President Donald Trump's lawyers argued Friday at a federal appeals court in New York that two banks should be stopped from turning over his financial records to House committees seeking them. The case is one of several across the country where Trump is fighting against turning over documents sought by Democrats. The documents being sought include accounting records and his state and federal tax returns.

A look at Trump's legal disputes over documents:

BUSINESS RECORDS-NEW YORK

Trump's fight in New York is over records related to his business ventures held by Deutsche Bank and Capital One. The records are being sought by the Democratic-led House Financial Services and Intelligence committees, which subpoenaed the information as part of their investigation into possible "foreign influence in the U.S. political process." Trump's lawyers have argued that Democrats lack a required "legitimate legislative purpose" in subpoenaing the records, but the argument hasn't been a winning one. U.S. District Judge Edgardo Ramos, an appointee of President Barack Obama, refused in May to block the subpoenas. Trump appealed and the case is now in the hands of three judges of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit, two of them nominated by Republican presidents and one by a Democrat.

BUSINESS RECORDS-WASHINGTON

The New York records dispute is similar to one in Washington that involves accounting firm Mazars USA. The House Committee on Oversight and Reform subpoenaed the records from Mazars, which has provided accounting services to Trump, in April, and Trump sued to stop the records' release. So far, the case has been a loss for Trump. U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta, an Obama appointee, ruled in May that lawmakers should get the documents, but Trump appealed. A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit heard arguments in the case in mid-July. The judges, two appointed by Democratic presidents and one appointed by Trump, have not yet issued a ruling.

FEDERAL TAX RETURNS-WASHINGTON

Also in Washington, Trump is fighting Congress in court over access to his federal tax returns. The House Ways and Means Committee sued the Trump administration in July over access to the returns. The committee said it needs to see them as part of an investigation into tax law compliance by the president, among other things. The committee has pointed to a law that says the Internal Revenue Service "shall furnish" the returns of any taxpayer to certain top lawmakers. But Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told the committee in May that he wouldn't be turning over the returns, setting up the lawsuit. The judge overseeing the case, Trevor McFadden, is a Trump appointee. The case is in its early stages.

STATE TAX RETURNS-WASHINGTON

Trump is also fighting to keep his New York state tax returns private. Trump filed a lawsuit in Washington in July to block the application of a new New York state law that could allow the House and Ways Means Committee to obtain his state tax returns. The measure, signed into law this summer by Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo, directs state tax officials to share state returns of some elected and appointed officials following a written request from certain Congressional committee chairs. New York's attorney general argues the case belongs in New York, not Washington, and is seeking to have it dismissed or moved. A hearing on that issue is set for mid-September. The judge assigned the case, Carl J. Nichols, is a Trump appointee who was just confirmed in May.

TAX RETURN REQUIREMENT-CALIFORNIA

Trump is also fighting a new California law that requires presidential candidates to release their previous five years of tax returns in order to appear on the state's primary ballot. The measure was signed into law by Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom in late July, and the Trump campaign and Republican Party quickly filed lawsuits over it. They argue the law violates the U.S. Constitution by creating an extra requirement to run for president and deprives citizens the right to vote for their chosen candidates. A hearing in Trump's federal case, which is being overseen by George W. Bush appointee Morrison C. England, is set for mid-September. California holds its 2020 presidential primary March 3. Separately, the California Supreme Court has agreed to hear a challenge to the law.

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. intelligence officials have determined that Russian President Vladimir Putin likely didn’t order the death of imprisoned opposition leader Alexei Navalny in February, according to an official familiar with the determination.

While U.S. officials believe Putin was ultimately responsible for the death of Navalny, who endured brutal conditions during his confinement, the intelligence community has found “no smoking gun” that Putin was aware of the timing of Navalny's death — which came soon before the Russian president's reelection — or directly ordered it, according to the official.

The official spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive matter.

Soon after Navalny’s death, U.S. President Joe Biden said Putin was ultimately responsible but did not accuse the Russian president of directly ordering it.

At the time, Biden said the U.S. did not know exactly what had happened to Navalny but that “there is no doubt” that his death “was the consequence of something that Putin and his thugs did.”

Navalny, 47, Russia’s best-known opposition politician and Putin’s most persistent foe, died Feb. 16 in a remote penal colony above the Arctic Circle while serving a 19-year sentence on extremism charges that he rejected as politically motivated.

He had been behind bars since January 2021 after returning to Russia from Germany, where he had been recovering from nerve-agent poisoning that he blamed on the Kremlin.

Russian officials have said only that Navalny died of natural causes and have vehemently denied involvement both in the poisoning and in his death.

In March, a month after Navalny’s death, Putin won a landslide reelection for a fifth term, an outcome that was never in doubt.

The Wall Street Journal first reported about the U.S. intelligence determination.

FILE - Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny gestures while speaking during his interview to the Associated Press in Moscow, Russia on Dec. 18, 2017. U.S. intelligence officials have determined that Russian President Vladimir Putin likely didn't order the death of Navalny, the imprisoned opposition leader, in February of 2024. An official says the U.S. intelligence community has found "no smoking gun" that Putin was aware of the timing of Navalny's death or directly ordered it. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, File)