House panel seeks 10 years of Trump financial records

March 28 (UPI) -- The House Oversight and Reform Committee wants President Donald Trump's financial records for the last 10 years and wants an accounting firm to hand them over.

Panel Chair Rep. Elijah Cummings sent the appeal in a letter to Mazars USA, a firm that prepared financial statements for Trump and the Trump Organization for a decade. Cummings said in the letter the committee is particularly interested in Trump's attempt to buy the NFL's Buffalo Bills before he was president.

The request is a followup to documents given the committee by former Trump attorney Michael Cohen during testimony last month when he said Trump gave false records to a bank and insurance company.

"Cohen produced to the committee financial statements from 2011, 2012 and 2013 that raise questions about the president's representations of his financial affairs on these forms and other disclosures, particularly relating to the president's debts," Cummings wrote in the letter, which is dated March 20 but released Wednesday.

Cummings asks for "all statements of financial condition, annual statements, periodic financial reports and independent auditors' reports prepared, compiled, reviewed or audited" by Mazars.

Cohen said during his testimony in February the documents support his accusation that Trump provided false statements to Deutsche Bank to buy the Bills.

Republican panel members Jim Jordan of Ohio and Mark Meadow of North Carolina chided Cummings Wednesday for a request to Fox News asking why it decided not to run a story on Trump's supposed affair with adult film actress Stormy Daniels.

"We should not waste our limited resources and energies on matters that do not improve the operations of the federal government or better the lives of our constituents," they wrote. "We urge you to reconsider your ill-conceived inquiry."

Congressional Democrats have also been trying since his election to get Trump to release prior tax returns, which presidential candidates typically -- but are not required to -- do.