Trump, House Democrats near agreement on Deutsche Bank subpoenas

[May 18, 2021]  NEW YORK (Reuters) - Former President Donald Trump and Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives said on Monday they are near an agreement to resolve disputes concerning congressional subpoenas of his financial records from Deutsche Bank AG.

In a filing in federal court in Manhattan, lawyers for Trump and the Democrats said they believed they were "close to an agreement" in talks concerning the scope of the subpoenas and a process for resolving privacy concerns. They asked a judge for another 30 days to continue talks.

Deutsche Bank, Trump's main bank, said in the same filing that both sides would invite it to raise any concerns "at an appropriate time." Deutsche Bank has maintained it took no position on the subpoenas and would comply with the law.

The House Financial Services Committee and House Intelligence Committee subpoenaed Deutsche Bank in 2019, seeking years of banking records concerning Trump, his adult children and his businesses.

Last July, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected Trump's claim that as president he possessed an absolute right to block the release of its records. But the justices said that while Congress had the power to seek evidence from the president, a lower appeals court failed to adequately consider whether the demands by lawmakers were overbroad or too intrusive.

Former U.S. President Donald Trump speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Orlando, Florida, U.S. February 28, 2021. REUTERS/Octavio Jones

In a separate decision, the Supreme Court also said Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance could obtain eight years of Trump's tax returns for a criminal probe into the former president and his businesses. Vance now has those returns.

With the original House subpoenas having expired, an agreement regarding the Deutsche Bank records would eliminate a need to reissue them.

(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Will Dunham)

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