When a federal judge ruled Monday that the President's longtime accounting firm Mazars must hand over his financial records, he did not just deliver a win to stonewalled Democrats. Trump is appealing the decision, and long court battles loom -- so Monday's ruling was a setback in a much longer war, a factor that offers Trump a significant political advantage. Depending on how the White House reacts to any eventual court orders that contravene the President's wishes, Monday's drama may also have brought a constitutional crisis one step closer. "This is them taking some of this back by trying to enforce this subpoena, so the ruling from the court doesn't surprise me." But to stop the handover then, another court will have to step in, possibly as part of the appeals process.

Source: CNN May 21, 2019 05:28 UTC