NONFICTION TOO 

Deutsche Bank gives Trump financial documents to New York investigators: report

Germany's Deutsche Bank has reportedly complied with a subpoena from the Manhattan District Attorney. The bank has been the US president's lender since the late 1990s.

    

 

Deutsche Bank complied with a subpoena in relation to an investigation into US President Donald Trump's tax records, The New York Times reported Wednesday.

The bank reportedly provided the Manhattan District Attorney office with "detailed records, including financial statements and other materials" that the president provided to the bank.

The investigation into Trump and the Trump Organization was launched after the disclosures of hush payments to two women who said they had sexual relations with Trump before he became president. Trump has denied the claims.

Deutsche Bank has been Trump's main lender since the 1990's, according to the paper. Investigators were reportedly heavily reliant on the documents after other lines of investigation were halted by legal action. 

The documents that the attorney's office has obtained are subject to grand jury secrecy rules, according to the report. The newspaper said they may never become public unless the office brings charges and introduces the documents as evidence at a trial.

Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance did not share details about his probe, but the office told a federal judge earlier this week that it was a "complex financial investigation" that followed reports of "possibly extensive and protracted criminal conduct at the Trump Organization." The investigation included charges of alleged insurance and bank fraud.

Vance did not confirm or deny the newspaper report. Representatives for Trump and Deutsche Bank also did not respond to initial requests for comment from the paper or other media outlets.

They subpoena, Trump sues

Vance launched investigations after Trump's former lawyer, Michael Cohen, told congress that the president would mislead business associates about the value of his assets. 

Two Congressional committees, both run predominately by Democrats, subpoenaed Deutsche Bank for documents related to Trump after Cohen's revelations. Trump sued to block their release.

Trump has called the investigations against him politically motivated. Earlier this week, he said Vance's investigation was "a continuation of the witch hunt." He refused to disclose his tax returns during the 2016 US presidential election and the 2020 election, even though it is standard practice for Republican and Democrat candidates to do so.

kbd/aw (AP, Reuters)   https://p.dw.com/p/3gUrz