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Supreme Court Temporarily Blocks House From Receiving Trump’s Financial Records

China’s House Price Growth to Hit Five-Year Low in 2020: Reuters Poll

BEIJING—China’s house prices are expected to grow just 3.1 percent next year, the lowest over a calendar year since 2015, a Reuters poll showed, with tightening policies continuing to cool the market even as some easing is expected to prevent a sharp slowing. A further moderation in China’s frothy market would be music to the ears of Chinese leaders, who have been cracking down on speculative buying for nearly four years as prices soared in almost every city-tier while income growth lagged. But policymakers have also been walking a tightrope, careful not to sink the market entirely—a crucial growth driver directly impacting more than 40 industries—as the economy is also dragged by an ailing manufacturing sector and flagging consumer confidence amid a trade war with the United States. “The market…

A view of the Supreme Court in Washington on Nov. 11, 2019. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

The U.S. Supreme Court granted President Donald Trump’s request on Nov. 25, to temporarily block House access to his financial records.

The country’s high court announced (pdf) that it had granted Trump’s emergency stay to block a subpoena issued by the House Oversight Committee to require his accountants, Mazars USA, to turn over the records. There was no noted dissent from the court’s unsigned order. The president now has until Dec. 5 to formally file a full appeal of the lower court’s ruling.

Congressional Democrats had subpoenaed the New York accounting firm to produce the records in April. In October, a lower court ruled that the committee had the authority to subpoena the records from Mazars, while the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit rejected Trump’s request earlier this month to reconsider the lower court’s decision.

The House Oversight Committee has argued that Trump’s case was too weak to earn a delay from the court.

The delay allows the justices to decide on the House subpoena and a similar demand from the Manhattan district attorney at the same time.

In the separate New York case, Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr., a Democrat, issued a subpoena to Mazars requesting Trump’s financial records in relation to a criminal case. Vance Jr. is investigating hush money paid to two women during the 2016 presidential campaign—adult film star Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal. Trump has denied the affairs and any other wrongdoing.

In a court filing to the Supreme Court, Justice Department Solicitor General Noel Francisco said in the 28-page Nov. 22 filing (pdf) that the justices should block Vance Jr. from getting the documents.

Francisco argues that courts haven’t even required Vance to show he needs the documents for his investigation and that “state grand jury subpoenas seeking the president’s personal records raise serious constitutional concerns.”

“Leaving local prosecutors with unfettered authority to issue such subpoenas creates a serious risk that those prosecutors—prioritizing local concerns and disregarding significant federal interests—may subject the President to highly burdensome demands for information. Leaving local prosecutors with such unfettered authority also raises the risk that prosecutors could use subpoenas to harass the President as a result of opposition to his policies,” Francisco argued.

The Supreme Court’s decision about whether to take up the appeal cases is expected by mid-January, which means the financial records might not play a role in the House’s impeachment inquiry proceedings against the president. House Intelligence Committee Chair Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) announced on Monday that his committee had begun preparing a report summarizing the evidence from the impeachment probe hearings and will pass control of the probe to the House Judiciary Committee.

If the high court decides to reject Trump’s appeals, the House and Vance would be able to enforce their subpoenas immediately, according to the order. If the court decides to take up the appeals, it is likely to be argued this term, and a decision could be issued by late June, at the end of the term.

Mazars previously told The Epoch Times that it would “respect the legal process and fully comply with its legal obligations.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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BEIJING—Chinese buyers scooped up at least 20 cargos of Brazilian soybeans last week due to uncertainty over a trade deal with the United States that sent them rushing to lock in supplies, traders said on Nov. 25. Importers also jumped on the new crop Brazilian beans because of attractive margins, said two traders who declined to be identified. The purchases were for delivery when the new harvest hits the market early next year, they said. Some U.S. and Argentinian cargos were also booked last week, one of the traders said, with total purchases of about 30 cargos. Chinese buyers have bought significantly fewer soybeans from their second largest supplier, the United States, this year, due to high tariffs on imports, which are expected to be lifted if the two sides…