Deutsche Bank, Donald Trumps biggest lender, is forced to submit documents after special prosecutor issues subpoena
Donald Trumps banking information has formally been turned over to Robert Mueller, the special prosecutor who is investigating whether the presidents campaign conspired with the Kremlin during the 2016 presidential election.
Deutsche Bank, the German bank that serves as Trumps biggest lender, was forced to submit documents about its client relationship with the president and some of his family members, who are also Deutsche clients, after Mueller issued the bank with a subpoena for information, according to media reports. The news was first reported by Handelsblatt, the German newspaper.
The revelation makes it clear that Mueller and his team are investigating the presidents finances. Trumps son-in-law and White House adviser, Jared Kushner, is also a client.
Deutsche Bank declined to comment, but told Bloomberg in a statement that it always cooperated with investigating authorities.
Jay Sekulow, a lawyer for Trump, denied the report, telling Reuters: No subpoena has been issued or received. We have confirmed this with the bank and other sources.
Deutsche Bank declined to comment on Sekulows statement. But Adam Schiff, the top Democrat on the House intelligence committee, which is investigating the Trump campaign, said Muellers reported subpoena of Deutsche Bank would be a very significant development.
If Russia laundered money through the Trump Organization, it would be far more compromising than any salacious video and could be used as leverage against Donald Trump and his associates and family, Schiff said in a statement. He was referring to a private investigators unsubstantiated allegation that the Kremlin had video proof of the presidents involvement in a salacious sex act.
Schiff also noted that the presidents son, Donald Trump Jr, has stated in the past that the Trump Organization received substantial funding from Russia and that there have been credible allegations that Russians have used the company to buy Trump properties for the purpose of money laundering.
Legal experts who are following the investigation said it showed Mueller was following the money in his search for possible links between the presidential campaign and the Kremlin.
It also indicated that any investigation into Trump personally may not be limited to the question of whether or not the president sought to obstruct justice when he fired the former FBI chief James Comey.
Instead, said Ryan Goodman, a New York law professor and former Pentagon counsel, it showed that Mueller was possibly examining whether the president could be compromised by Russian interests.
Deutsche Bank relates to the Russia collusion investigation, Goodman said.
He pointed to the banks known relationships with Russian oligarchs and its previous dealings in Moscow among reasons why Mueller would be interested in having access to Trumps bank accounts. The president was in the past loaned about $300m by the bank. His indebtedness, Goodman said, means that Mueller will want to examine if there are any connections between Russia and the presidents financial vulnerabilities.
How serious are the allegations?
The story of Donald Trump andRussiacomes down to this: a sitting president or his campaign is suspected of having coordinated with a foreign country to manipulate a US election. The story could not be bigger, and the stakes for Trump and the country could not be higher.
What are the key questions?
Investigators are asking two basic questions: did Trumps presidential campaign collude at any level with Russian operatives to sway the 2016 US presidential election? And did Trump or others break the law to throw investigators off the trail?
What does the country think?
While a majority of the American public now believes that Russia tried to disrupt the US election, opinions about Trump campaign involvement tend to split along partisan lines: 73% of Republicans, but only 13% of Democrats,believeTrump did nothing wrong in his dealings with Russia and its president, Vladimir Putin.
What are the implications for Trump?
The affair has the potential to eject Trump from office.Experienced legal observers believethat prosecutors are investigating whether Trump committed an obstruction of justice. Both Richard Nixon and Bill Clinton the only presidents to face impeachment proceedings in the last century were accused of obstruction of justice. But Trumps fate is probably up to the voters. Even if strong evidence of wrongdoing by him or his cohort emerged, a Republican congressional majority would probably block any action to remove him from office. (Such an action would be a historical rarity.)
What has happened so far?
Former foreign policy adviser George Papadopolous pleaded guilty to perjury over his contacts with Russians linked to the Kremlin, and the presidents former campaign managerPaul Manafortand another aide face charges of money laundering.
When will the inquiry come to an end?
The investigations have an open timeline.
Trump has consistently denied any collusion between his campaign and Russia and has stated that he did not have any business dealings in Russia. Since then, news has emerged that the Trump Organization sold a significant number of its properties to Russian clients and explored opening a hotel in Moscow, though the plan never came to fruition.
The president has repeatedly criticised the Mueller investigation and this weekend alleged that the FBIs reputation was in tatters. The attack followed the guilty plea of Trumps former national security adviser, Michael Flynn, who is cooperating with federal investigators.
Muellers investigators have, according to previous media reports, examined Russian purchases of Trump-owned apartments, the presidents involvement with Russian associates in a development in SoHo, New York, and the presidents 2008 sale of his Florida mansion to a Russian oligarch, Dmitry Rybolovlev.
News of the subpoena was not unexpected. The Guardian reported in July that executives at the bank were anticipating they would receive a formal demand for the presidents banking records and had already established informal contacts with Muellers investigators.
The development nevertheless represents a significant blow to the president.
Deutsche Bank has for months been the subject of intense scrutiny especially by Democrats on Capitol Hill because of its dealings with the president and its history of banking violations, including its dealings in Russia.
The $300m in loans, some of which may have been restructured, were extended to Trump before he became president.
He has four large mortgages, all issued by Deutsches private bank. The loans are guaranteed against the presidents properties: a deluxe hotel in Washington DCs Old Post Office building, just around the corner from the White House; his Chicago tower hotel; and the Trump National Doral Miami resort.
The Guardian reported in February that the bank had launched a review of Trumps account earlier this year to gauge whether there were any connections to Russia and had not discovered anything suspicious.
Ivanka Trump, the presidents daughter and adviser in the White House and Kushners mother, Seryl Stadtmauer, are also clients of Deutsche Bank.
Deutsche Bank has been the only financial institution willing to lend Trump significant sums since the 1990s, a period in which other Wall Street banks turned off the tap after Trumps companies declared bankruptcy.
The German bank sued Trump in November 2008 after he failed to repay a $40m debt on a $640m real estate loan. Trump countersued and the matter was eventually settled in 2010. Trump then began doing business with Deutsches private banking business, which extended new loans despite the banks history of litigation with the onetime real estate tycoon.
The special counsels office declined to comment.
Read more: http://www.theguardian.com/us