Deutsche Bank says records sought in Trump congressional probe include tax returns

[August 28, 2019]  By Brendan Pierson

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Financial records related to U.S. President Donald Trump and three of his children that congressional Democrats have requested from Deutsche Bank AG include tax returns, the bank disclosed in a court filing on Tuesday.

Two committees in the U.S. House of Representatives subpoenaed Deutsche Bank in April to provide financial records belonging to the president and his children Donald Trump Jr., Ivanka Trump and Eric Trump.

Deutsche Bank's filing, in the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, revealed that it had tax returns that it would need to hand over if it complied with the subpoenas, which the Trumps are seeking to block. It was not clear whose tax returns it had, because names were redacted from the filing.

A lawyer for the Trumps could not immediately be reached for comment. Deutsche Bank declined to comment.

The disclosure comes as Democrats on the House Ways and Means Committee are seeking to obtain Trump's personal and business tax returns, which the president has refused to turn over, from the Treasury Department.

Deutsche Bank has long been a principal lender for Trump's real estate business. A 2017 disclosure form showed that Trump had at least $130 million of liabilities to the bank.

The subpoenas on Deutsche Bank, issued by the House Financial Services Committee and the Intelligence Committee, seek records of accounts, transactions and investments linked to Trump and the three named children, their immediate family members and several Trump Organization entities, including records of possible ties to foreign entities.

Deutsche Bank said in Tuesday's filing that it also had tax returns for people who "may constitute 'immediate family'" as defined by the subpoenas, without giving any names.

Signage is seen on the lobby of the U.S. headquarters of Deutsche Bank in New York City, U.S., July 8, 2019. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly

A lawyer for the Trumps last week urged the 2nd Circuit to block the bank from handing over the records, saying Congress did not have the authority to demand them. The court has not yet ruled on the case.

The Trumps are also seeking to block a separate subpoena served by the Financial Services Committee on Capital One Financial Corp seeks records related to the Trump Organization's hotel business.

Capital One said in a court filing on Tuesday that it did not have any tax returns related to the subpoena. The bank did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

2nd Circuit judges had ordered both banks to disclose whether they had tax returns last week.

Before Trump, the custom for modern U.S. presidential candidates was to reveal their income tax returns during their campaigns.

(Reporting by Brendan Pierson in New York; additional reporting by Matt Scuffham; Editing by Sonya Hepinstall)

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