(Photo: AP)

WASHINGTON, Oct. 11 (Xinhua) -- A US federal appeals court ruled Friday to uphold an earlier subpoena ordering that President Donald Trump's accountants hand his financial records over to Congress for investigation.

Three judges of the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled 2-1 to endorse a subpoena issued April 15 by Democrat-controlled House Committee on Oversight and Reform requesting that Mazars USA, Trump's accounting firm, provide eight years of the president's financial records between 2011 and 2018.

"Contrary to the president's arguments," Judges David Tatel and Patricia Millett wrote in a 66-page opinion Friday. "The Committee possesses authority under both the House rules and the Constitution to issue the subpoena, and Mazars must comply."

Tatel and Millett were both appointed by Democratic presidents while Neomi Rao, the judge who dissented the ruling, is a Trump appointee.

Rao, for her part, argued that in order to carry out an investigation into the president, the House will have to invoke constitutional impeachment powers, instead of resorting to regular oversight capacities.

"Throughout our history, Congress, the President, and the courts have insisted upon maintaining the separation between the legislative and impeachment powers of the House and recognized the gravity and accountability that follow impeachment," Rao said in her dissent. "Allowing the Committee to issue this subpoena for legislative purposes would turn Congress into a roving inquisition over a co-equal branch of government."

"Today's ruling is a fundamental and resounding victory for Congressional oversight, our Constitutional system of checks and balances, and the rule of law," Chairman of House Committee on Oversight and Reform Elijah Cummings said in a statement Friday.

"For far too long, the president has placed his personal interests over the interests of the American people," the Maryland Democrat added.

Mazars USA said it would respect the legal process and fully comply with its legal obligations.