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A personal lawyer for Donald Trump has denied reports that Special Counsel Robert Mueller had ordered Deutsche Bank to hand over data relating to the US president.
"No subpoena has been issued or received," Trump attorney Jay Sekulow said. "We have confirmed this with the bank and other sources.”
A person close to the matter had told Reuters on Tuesday that Muller, who is investigating alleged Russia interference in the 2016 presidential election, had asked Germany's largest bank for data on accounts held by Trump and his family. Other news organizations reported similar claims.
Deutsche Bank has lent the Trump organisation hundreds of millions of dollars for real estate deals.
Bankruptcies at his hotel and casino business in the 1990s made much of Wall Street shy away from lending Trump credit, forcing him to look further afield.
The bank received a subpoena several weeks ago to provide information on certain money and credit transactions, the person told Reuters, without giving details, adding that key documents had been handed over in the meantime.
Donald Trump's attorney Jay Sekulow
A US official with knowledge of Mueller's probe said one reason for the subpoenas was to find out whether Deutsche Bank may have sold some of Trump’s mortgage or other loans to Russian state development bank VEB or other Russian banks that now are under US and European Union sanctions.
Holding such debt, particularly if some of it was or is coming due, could potentially give Russian banks some leverage over Trump, especially if they are state-owned, said a second US official familiar with Russian intelligence methods.
“One obvious question is why Trump and those around him expressed interest in improving relations with Russia as a top foreign policy priority, and whether or not any personal considerations played any part in that,” the second official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity.
Mueller is investigating alleged Russian attempts to influence the election, and potential collusion by Trump aides. Russia has denied US intelligence agencies' conclusion that it meddled in the election and Trump has said there was no collusion with Moscow.
A source close to Deutsche Bank said the bank had run checks on Trump’s financial dealings with Russia. During his election campaign, Trump said he would seek to improve ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin, which were strained during President Barack Obama's administration.
Finances 'a red line'
During a photo opportunity with senators at the White House on Tuesday, Trump declined to answer shouted questions from reporters about whether Mueller had crossed a line by asking Deutsche Bank for information.
In a July 9 interview with the New York Times, the president said Mueller should not extend his investigation into Trump's finances if they were not directly related to the Russia accusations.
Asked if delving into his and his family's finances unrelated to the Russia probe would cross a red line, Trump replied, "I would say yeah. I would say yes."
The president declined to say what he would do if Mueller began such an examination, but he continued, “I think that’s a violation. Look, this is about Russia.”
Deutsche Bank earlier this year rebuffed efforts by Democratic US lawmakers to get more information on its dealings with Trump as well as any information it may have about whether the Republican, his family or advisers had financial backing from Russia.
(REUTERS)
