Don the Con can WANT all he likes, But, Deutsche Bank is Not American and is Not under Trump's orders whatsoever. If the Corporation Has to deal with the US Congress, then Mr Trump can say nothing about it.
Our House of Representatives is Doing The People's Will...is that not what the Republicans claimed when they immediately went after Mr Obama after running on the platform of Jobs Jobs Jobs.
The Dem Politicians are doing Exactly what they were voted into office to do:Investigate the Criminal Trump Campaign and Administration and remove the entire cabal of grifters that Trump, Pence and McConnell have forced upon the Nation. These Incompetent Politically Locked hacks put into jobs such as judgeships that the ABA says are totally and uniquely unqualified for their positions, as well as several cabinet members that have been forced to resign or have been fired.
There is also the whole Russian Money for American Apartments that seems to have laundered HUGE sums of money for the criminal Russian Oligarchs and because of that owes his soul to the Russians and anything they ask him politely for, he takes as marching orders.
Trump seems to forget that the House has power equal to his own, and that the Corporations, such as DB and the like, are Not Govt entities that he is able to order about. He is not able to Order Congress or the Courts anyhow.
Congress has the right to dig up his trail of crimes. In fact it is their DUTY to do so, and to hold him fully responsible for them.
40
IF you want to play three card monte with the chumps, ebay will equip you for less than two US dollars. Trump's problem is that the $2 deck will not do any magic with his current opposition. The Lord be thankit, as we say.
7
Liebe Deutsche Bank,
Dare to be on the right side of history.
23
Too bad. Trump now gets to be treated just as any other citizen whenever documents are obtained from a bank by a subpoena. He richly deserves to have his skeletons come out of the closet. If you want a really good read, look into his six bankruptcy filings. These are on line and available.
34
I find it difficult to believe that this article doesn't even mention the reporting from the NYT (on June 28, last year), indicating that there was a possibility that Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy's resignation was prompted by Trump because Kennedy's son was the Deutche Bank person to loan Trump money when no one else would. Is hte NYT afraid of the truth?
“During Mr. Kennedy’s tenure, Deutsche Bank became Mr. Trump’s most important lender, dispensing well over $1 billion in loans to him for the renovation and construction of skyscrapers in New York and Chicago at a time other mainstream banks were wary of doing business with him because of his troubled business history,” the Times reported June 28, adding that the justice’s son “worked closely with Trump.” - https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/fact-checker/wp/2018/07/12/untangling-the-links-between-trump-deutsche-bank-and-justice-kennedys-son/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.8c11707b1113
The NY Times article: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/28/us/politics/trump-anthony-kennedy-retirement.html
18
I agree with Doug that the bank should act in accordance to the justice system. I don't agree with him in his analogy that if his driver's license belongs to the state a third party can dispose of it as he wishes. The bank should be allowed to provide information regarding the business Trump conducted with the bank. Trump's tax return is Trump's and not the bank's. Trump's tax return should be supoened via the IRS and not the bank. Trump gave the bank this information in good faith believing that the bank wanted to have proof of Trump's solvency. What's going on here has nothing to do with this proof.
1
As with fighting the Congressional subpoenas of administration officials, and refusing an in person interview for the Mueller investigation (after stating he'd welcome the opportunity), and not releasing his taxes (after promising to multiple times), the big question is this:
If he's so innocent with nothing to hide, why does he stonewall so hard?
20
After several bankruptcies any bank would be skeptical if a Trump comes a knockin on your door. Deutche bank has a lot more to lose fighting government regulaters than a mecurical and vindictive Trump. Deutche bank after being used by Trump in the past might be thrilled to hand over all documents just to hurt him. One thing is that President Trump applied for a new loan just after being elected. Deutche bank refused the loan on the grounds they did not want to be in the position of confiscating property and assessts from a standing president. And with Trumps history of bankruptcy it was a real possibility. So I gleefully will watch the banks hand over all their information on Trump. Its about time. Trump has been behaving as a criminal for a long time and his financial documents will prove it. Otherwise Trump wouldnt care.
24
I think his biggest fear is that everyone will find out he really has no money. The emperor's new clothes are chaffing.
25
@Irene He is afraid of information indicating that the bank was funneling untaxed money directly from Russian Oligarchs and maybe Putin himself to Trump's real estate ventures, taking a cut in the process. Maybe the financing for the Trump SoHo hotel in Manhattan. That is the kind of information that Glenn Simpson was suggesting that some committee with impeachment power could reasonably look for in his testimony to the House Intelligence Committee. Or it could be that the bank really is interested in clearing its name by proving that it was not channeling untaxed money. Only by investigating can they be sure. But why would Trump object?
15
Clearly, Congress must pass a law that required every presidential candidate to make his/her tax returns available before being allowed to run for office. No president in US history has ever been as corrupt as Trump, who has made a complete mockery of our institutions.
40
Trump winning this one and not being impeached points very clearly to the acceptance of the first American dictator. Are you ready for this?
13
@David Gage..........You recall the story of the straw that broke the camel's back, of course. If not GOOGLE it....
When our Country is forced to choose between being a city on the hill and a sewer that imperfectly removes the waste we can thank The Trumps for framing the question.
7
Let's investigate the finances of every US Representative and Senator in office. Let's investigate the finances of every Governor. Let's investigate the finances of the Uber wealthy who are spending millions to affect the political outcomes of elections in States they do not reside in...!
11
If it were anybody else I would assume he has something he's trying to hide. However, Mr. Trump is often driven to a frenzy by things he perceives as threats or slights, that any normal person would probably not even notice. So it's entirely possible that the records are released and reveal nothing new.
3
"Mr. Trump’s lawyers said the subpoenas had no legitimate purpose and were an attempt to pry into his finances for political gain."
Well, no, that's backwards. We have a right to investigate if a person attempted to pry into politics for financial gain.
The President claimed he'd make a profit on running for the Presidency. There's been no indication he's not trying to continue the trend of profiting by being the President. And note that that is not the same as a former President, of either party, getting a book deal after the fact.
20
@b fagan
Sure no legitimate purpose...but dragging Hillary Clinton in front of Congress for 12 hours of grilling on Benghazi (maybe the 30th hearing on that subject) in the middle of the 2016 presidential campaign, definitely a legitimate non-political purpose...
15
I thought I read the following in the Times, maybe not, but an article stated that bank records belong to the bank, not the person who the records pertain to.
This doesnt mean the bank can willy-nilly be cavalier with its handling of these records, they have an obligation to respect the privacy issues related to the records.
A legal subpoena, however, in my view precludes trump from having any standing to sue. His suit should be dismissed outright if my understanding is correct.
Maybe this analogy is a stretch but the Drivers License I have is not mine, it belongs to NY state, the credit cards I have are not mine they belong to the issuing bank and my passport is not mine it belongs to the Federal Government. They all have an obligation to prevent unauthorized disclosure of sensitive information, but must respond to a valid subpoena.
16
Deutsche Bank should comply with the subpoenas. We already wonder what Trump is hiding. If the bank refuses to comply, we will wonder even more what they have to hide.
24
What is wrong with Deutsche Bank ? Germans are not morons, and yet they behaved like that. To recap: 1. Trump gets a loan of hundreds of millions from DB, 2. Trump defaults on a payment of $40 million (?), 3. Trump sues DB for predatory lending, 4. DB sues back Trump to get their money, 5. amazingly, DB and Trump remain good buddies, 6. Trump gets another loan of $300 million from DB. Again: what is wrong with DB ? This is not a story of Trump being a shrewd businessman, but yet another story of dumb people lending him money, just like those who invested in his AC casinos. So many people with so much money and so little brains ! Yes, I know: I do not have all the information, but there is fun in jumping to conclusions and accusations of stupidity.
23
@mynameisnotsusan Well, notSusan, if you think Deutsche Bank was dumb, what must their stockholders think? And if they accepted it, there is likely something else besides normal business lending going on here. Maybe someone with subpoena power should check it out.
11
Sure seems like Donnie's interested in hiding something on those tax returns.......
28
You can feel the panic from Trump desperately trying to keep his dirty little financial misdeeds from ever seeing the light of day. Obviously he is terrified the Truth will finally be out there for the whole world to see. One can only conclude there is some serious and damaging evidence in the Deutsche Bank records; otherwise Trump would not be so scared of what they will reveal. One day historians are going to have a field day with how this morally repugnant man ever became President of the U.S.; and how many blind sycophants and toadies were willing to turn blind eyes to all of it. I would use the word Shame; but they have none. So I will instead use the word Pathetic.
31
As much as I find Trump odious, this is a very bad precedent and a major government invasion of privacy.
1
@applegirl57
Why?
Banks don't do this for us.
Why should it for Trump?
23
@applegirl57 When a businessman with international investments becomes President, he should expect the Congress has an interest in determining how his finances are run to make sure that his conduct of foreign policy is in America's interest, not his. If he did not want to release this information, he should have remained a private citizen.
36
@applegirl57 Suppose it is determined that Trump made secret deals with high-level Russian officials in order to invest in a variety of projects to enrich himself and then, as President made decisions to protect himself without regard to the impact on the USA? There had to be some reason for the secret 2 hour Putin conversation in person. Don't you want the critical background information to sort this out?
21
“I have been the most transparent president and administration in the history of our country by far.”
We all heard him say it and yet the total opposite is true. Trump and his lawyers are conducting a crusade against common decency and any accountability by him, his family and his administration. Fox News and the GOP is complicit.
Impeachment can’t come soon enough!
35
DJT sues DB : that is official public now.
If fraud is discovered in DB documents:
DJT will have officially publicly...attempted to obstruct justice.
Case closed.
19
The T's team for defense is that the d's going back to when he was a private citizen are on a "political witch hunt" the trouble is if you are grooming someone to be compromised to the depths the russians want to make him an "asset" it must be a very long and complicated game to be successful.... you need to go back 20 years and even farther....." Miss World" contest comes to mind
12
In the very first paragraph of the article..........”and were an attempt to pry into his finances for political gain.” I think this sums it up. There must be something there or Trump wouldn’t go to these lengths.
He undoubtedly thinks that impeachment is political, which could be one outcome depending on what is uncovered.
These days, I feel like I’m a student at Trump University—-just waiting to be told I’m a sucker who’s been scammed.
18
Dear Deutschbank,
Please get on the right side of this.
What a chance for a big bank to do one small great thing.
27
Here's hoping Angela Merkel gets the last laugh. You can tell when trump is running scared. So far today, beginning at 5:56 this morning, trump has posted or reposted 65 tweets. In 3 hours. Guess what he will be doing all day today. Watching TV and tweeting up a storm. Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you the President of the United States of America.
33
@Chris
I don't want him.
You can have the honor.
11
The Democrats can seize control of the public debate, even as the lawyers fight it out, by asking one question over and over again: "Why are you so afraid Mr. President?" Being described as "afraid" is this man's worst nightmare, so beat it to death.
23
The minds of Trumps supporters must be pretzels by now. If they keep up the mental twisting and turning to avoid having to admit the truth about him, their minds will soon shatter into millions of pretzel crumbs in the bottom of the bag.
12
@mike
I have come to the conclusion that Trump's fans are in it for the show he presents at every one of his rallies.
And they can probably get in free of charge.
It's much better than going to a concert in which one has to pay much money to see the performance.
6
This should be a no-brainer.
You have a president whose behavior appears to be unpredictable and erratic. He regularly over-rules those with the expertise to address issues, including issues related to intelligence, where he clearly has no expertise at all.
His “explanations” for his conduct tend to be facile, and provide no meaningful insight into his motivations.
In these circumstances, there can be no question that the American people have the right to all information which might shed light on Trump’s motivations. Although there may well be political issues related to the release of the documents, that is really a side issue.
When you have a president whose conduct is more easily explained on the basis that he is motivated by pursuit of personal interests, it is essential that the people have the information to judge for themselves whether there is any evidence to support or rebut the above possibility in terms of his motivation.
Suppose the evidence does show that his actions as president emphasize the pursuit of his interests and those of his family over the public interest. That would be serious form of corruption. The people need the information necessary to ensure that their leaders are not engaged in corrupt practices.
It is also worth considering Trump’s attitude to the release of any documents which could shed light on his personal motivations. The intensity of his attitude suggests strongly he has something substantial to hide.
26
We have the right to carry and use a gun but one thing missing in this country is a right to privacy. We use Google and our data gets shared. Ditto for Facebook and other social media sites. We've got accustomed to having no expectation of privacy. Europeans, on the other hand, value their privacy and their right to it. How many of you would want your personal data, including every loan application and tax returned exposed to and scrutinized by millions of people, reporters and politicians? This is certainly a fishing expedition but enough is enough. We elected our president to govern our country and spend all his time and energy to do just that, not to get sidetracked with frivolous partisan inquisitions. Let him got on with the job of governing, and if he has committed a crime let criminal investigators, not career politicians do the investigation! Mueller did just that and it's now time to move on.
1
@Vivian Right to privacy is not absolute, just as right to own and use a gun is not absolute. Even freedom of speech is not absolute. As long as proper due process is observed, according to law and precedent, privacy can be breached. And it's the same in Europe. In fact, in America, the privacy thing gets taken to ridiculous ends compared to how most European countries handle it. Basically, you don't get to commit crimes in secret and then hide it from investigation because it's "private".
Also, your ignorance is showing. For the POTUS, the Constitution puts investigation ultimately in the hands of career politicians. Mueller's report says he's doing just that where obstruction is concerned; did you read it? Bringing up Mueller damns your argument.
But even Nixon, even after Watergate and his resignation, always maintained an approval rating of at least 25%, his loyal supporters no matter what he did. Trump would probably maintain his 35-ish % even if proof came out that he is Vladimir Putin's lapdog, and was bilking the US out of millions of dollars as President. Thee are none so blind as they who will not see.
20
@Vivian
Then he shouldn't have run for a public office with a salary paid for by the citizens of that public office.
His giving his salary away to 'charity' doesn't count.
That's his choice.
He lives and occupies a home provided by the people of this country.
He is provided with security that is at the expense of the people as does his mode of travel.
He works for us, not the other way around.
If he doesn't like it, he can resign.
15
@Vivianand look at the catch of this “fishing expedition”.
Guilty pleas, indictments, plea deals, and more to come.
The Greek saying “ the fish stinks from the head first” sums this up all to well.
5
Of course he wants to stop both these and his taxes from coming out. If there is a difference between his taxes and his loan applications it will mean he lied on one or the other, which is presumably a crime.
24
It sounds like Trumps 40 million dollar default was a washing fee.
Why else would you lend a deadbeat 300 million.
26
I was a tunnel rat, working in the trades in the early 80s in NY & remember the warnings never to work for Trump unless I wanted to work for free. I've often wondered since then where he got the initial investments to start the projects in the first pkace since he was obviously a conman. This is an intriguing story as his "empire" is forcibly & slowly unravelled.
45
As I understand it, the art of the deal for a tradesman working for Trump was to insist on all cash completely up front for any given job. If they refused, walk away. If they come back to you again for that same job, up the price, still insisting on all cash up front. Rinse and repeat.
17
Very slippery slope here - there are hundreds if not thousands of public employees who's personal financial records may or may not be of the public's interest to examine. I would include the entire Senate and House of Representatives. Potential conflicts all over the place.
The problem is, where does it end - at my doorstep?
3
@Robert T - I had to have my finances examined as part of my job application. It happens all the time.
Bank teller applicants have to go through more scrutiny than Presidential candidates which is absolutely nuts.
21
@Robert T Forgive me if I'm wrong, and this isn't meant to insult you. But I think you are of comparatively little interest and comparatively little consequence compared to POTUS. If the people of this country are willing to let their highest elected official, one with considerable power, carry on as a criminal, past present and future, I'd say the slippery slope is one of our moral ground.
12
@Robert T
Congress has long held the power to order up anyone's IRS data and investigate any public official.
What is your problem that would attract their attention? are you a thief? a liar? an embezzler? a drug dealer? if not then you don't have much to worry about.
8
If you apply for a loan, you fill out forms created by the lender. These are the lender's documents, you merely provide information they need to decide whether to loan or not.
If these are business records of the lender, what right do you or I have to demand that they not release their records in response to a subpoena? Tables turned would Trump tell you to pound sand if you issued a subpoena for his hotel records for someones stay?
Do any of us get a say when the government delivers a subpoena or warrant for out facebook records?
Trump has to be made to understand his money does not make him different or special when it comes to the law. He should be sued for interference or even indicted for obstruction of justice.
40
What are the odds the federal court in Manhattan declares the the Congressional subpoenas unenforceable?
Deutsche Bank seems cooperative. Let's hope the judge will reject Trump's suit. It's so obvious that his business dealings can't withstand any public scrutiny, confirming allegations that he rubbed shoulders with mobsters and laundered their dirty money.
54
"Trump’s Payback for Payday Lenders
The new head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is seeking to gut rules that protect Americans from a predatory industry." The Editorial Board, NY Times, Feb. 12, 2019
"In fall 2008, Mr. Trump defaulted on a loan from Deutsche Bank, then sued it, claiming it had caused the financial crisis and engaged in predatory lending against him." This article
I was going to call Trump a hypocrite but I realize that is not the case. He is simply a reaction machine, lashing-out at whatever bothers him at the moment regardless of context or consequences.
22
The silver lining of Trump’s Presidency is that it exposes the weak & broken election system of America. The GOP has rigged the voting districts to silence people’s votes. Also, the electoral college under our Constitution has rigged presidential elections to silence the will of the people. The judicial and congressional branches as a result are not truly representative of America. Thus, our weak & broken election system has allowed a non majority of hate filled voters to control all 3 branches of government, led by the most immoral, corrupt, hate filled president in our history.
48
@simon simon
to be fair and accurate, the Electoral College system, at the time it was implemented, was the most efficient and effective way for a nation that spanned as much land as ours did even in 1776, to vote.
Today it is inefficient and by its very structure able to thwart the will of the majority of the nations voters.
If it was not enshrined in the Constitution it would be easy to change; sadly it cannot be readily changed.
7
The subpoena is legit - Cohen testified that Trump routinely exaggerated (i.e. lied) as to the value of his properties when taking loans and making business proposals. Since lying on a loan application is a federal crime, congress is within its oversight rights to investigate and if necessary refer the matter, if true, for prosecution. But hey, Trump should have nothing to worry about because the house republicans insisted Cohen was liar.
39
Interesting that Trump sued Deutsche Bank after he defaulted on a $40 million loan claiming the bank engaged in risky lending that contributed to the financial collapse that in turn affected Trump's business. My head is spinning already. Then in the end Trump and Deutsche Bank kissed and made up and settled. The bank then resumed lending to Trump "more than $300 million to him over the next several years." Trump is like a magician he can fool Deutsche Bank and the American people. Very few people can pull off such a brazen stunt.
29
@Wayne
I concur with your opinion, but would take it one step further. I wonder who repaid Deutsche Bank during the pendency of the law suit? Mobsters? The Russians? Some other unsavory or crime or enemy governmental types may be discovered within those records, perhaps? I don't know if RICO might apply here, but DJT, his family are not above the law. I do not believe that DJT deserves kudos for his brazen stunt, but rather I would ask why others who have dealt with him and his businesses 'spit on the ground every time his name is mentioned'. [Kudos to Paul Simon for a terrific lyric from the song Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard].
5
In this dust-up Trump evinces all the emotive character of Charlton Heston's famous evocation:
"I'll give you my gun when you pry it from my cold, dead hands"
Only replace the gun comment with financial statements. To which I can only reply:
"That can be arranged."
Umm...so to speak.
John~
American Net'Zen
12
Deutsch bank has bankrolled Mr. Trump AND the Russians.
That pretty much covers it.
26
Poor Donald, he can't possibly stop Deutsche Bank from Germany from sending it to congress or the state of New York. He has no jurisdiction in Germany.
29
Trump is not behaving like an innocent person.
43
@Carrie
Trumps life long mentor was Roy Cohn. Innocent has no meaning in his vocabulary.
12
Good luck with that you are no longer a private citizen and you should have considered that when you ran for office. Somehow one day you will pay for your crimes. It will see the light of day it always does.
38
You would have to be incredibly naive to not see that Trump has a lot of ugly and possibly illegal business dealings to hide. It is like his reaction to the Mueller report - he knows that he is a crook but he still believes that he can fool the entire world into thinking that he is an innocent being unfairly persecuted.
He is making Nixon look virtuous and honest by comparison and clearly represents a new low for our increasingly sketchy government. Drain the swamp? He has gold plated it and expanded it like one of his tacky resorts.
42
@Jim Dickinson Yep, Ol Tricky Dick famously stated that "I am Not A Crook", and then went on to totally disprove his own statement.
Trump might want to review that video, if it can be dug out, since he refuses to read. Perhaps a little reality thrown his way would clarify things.
4
@Jim Dickinson
You obviously misunderstood him when he said he would 'drain the swamp'. What DJT mean was that he would drain the swamp and hire each and everyone of those folks to make sure MAGA worked for him, his family and his friends.
4
How about DT & Rudy should shut it about private citizen- No Trump you are NOT a private citizen anymore. You are POTUS & therefore negates your argument that you’re entitled to privacy. We all know public figures don’t get privacy especially when that “privacy” encroaches the office in which you hold. You especially as a public figure aren’t entitled to privacy to hide your crimes. No citizen is private or otherwise.
I also want to know why Justice Kennedy abruptly retired. It’s a well known fact Kennedy’s son was/is an executive @ DB. Was there bribes involved? Blackmail? What is it? It’s more than we’re being told because something shady AF went down with that.
NYT PLEASE start digging into Kennedy & why this happened.
36
The GOP has no credibility to use a "private citizen" defense for Trump. Whitewater was about the actions of then private citizens Bill and Hillary Clinton. When that didnt get the desired charges against them brought, they switched gears into multiple other issues.
23
So many banks over the last 20 years have been caught laundering money HSBC, Bank of NY, Deutsche, Chase.
16
Deutsche Bank and Capitol One would do well to rid themselves of the stink of the Trump crime syndicate. Their association with this family makes me question their judgement and ethics.
30
The Democrats have a mission, and if the only means to push him out is to issue subpoenas to his banking institutions, they're on it, hot and heavy.
The Feds used similar methods vs. notorious mobster Al Capone. They couldn't come up with enough concrete evidence to send him to prison for running the Chicago mob, or prove his involvement in violent criminal activity, so they used the IRS to hit Capone with tax evasion, and voilà.
18
@November-Rose-59
I cannot tell if you are praising democrats or trying to insult them.
2
the most illiterate and economically naive know that Deutschebank records and loans will be the motherload in fraud and system abuse on the part of our dear leader,\
This time, unlike in the past, where DB turned its head as Don used fraudulent figures . property assessments, appraisals etc will be reviewed in the light of day, as will the source of the money DB used to make the loans.
It was always telling that Trump's biggest three loan deals all went bankrupt, with millions down the drain and into Trump's pocket,
Can't wait!!!!
22
"Private lending". Russian oligarchs to POTUS and family via Deutsche Bank. Seems cristal clear.
19
The ‘Trump Family’ sure isn’t acting like they are innocent. I guess if it walks like a duck and talks like a duck, then it is a duck. Feel free to substitute criminal for duck......
24
Trump is my 13th president.I see in him only a bottomless fool.
11
Your headline in this on line version of the story accurately uses the word ‘block’. However, your front page print version of this story says “Trump defends secrets in suit against lender”. VERY different spin!!! Defending secrets could be construed as a justifiable action. We all want our secrets secret. But blocking implies interfering. And obstruction is exactly what Trump has been doing. An avid times reader, but not the first time I’ve been extremely disappointed with your pro Trump headlines, even though the body of the article may be objective.
11
A new office in the White House: HIDE (Hope It Doesn't Expose).
8
Mr. Enrich,
What if you omitted "Democratic-controlled" congressional committees, instead just writing "committees"? I believe that the elimination of the modified noun would eliminate bias, which, I believe, should not be part of this article.
12
@Jane
is it really bias Jane? please name a Republican controlled committee anywhere in the Federal Government that is actually investigating Trumps apparently illegal and illicit actions?
If there are none, then no bias applies, it is just a factual statement.
8
"That prospect prompted Mr. Trump to file a lawsuit in federal court in Manhattan on Monday in an attempt to block Deutsche Bank and another financial company, Capital One, from sharing documents."
No surprise here, of course, he did. The man is a pit bull and will fight to the death guarding His money. These pieces of paper and coin define who a djt is, nothing more and nothing less.
p.s. he does not give a rip about his family except for maybe their names he uses on any documentation these banks have.
13
Who cares what his financial situation is, let the guy govern. Dems juts can't beat this guy and it drives them nuts...
4
Yes we should let all criminals go free and let them run the world as they seem fit--at least those thzat promote our prejudices.
10
@There - Our tax dollars shouldn't be used as the Trump family piggy bank. It's wrong and it's illegal.
btw, this guys idea of governing is to poison our air and water, damage our schools, alienate our allies and endanger our health care.
9
@There
you don't care that he has engaged in illegal money laundering with Russian oligarchs? something tells me if it was Clinton or Obama making these actions your hair would be on fire.
9
I'm trying to formulate a recommendation to trumps's base. Given that it has to be phrased in simple terms it somehow goes like this. "All you poor morons pay taxes on your meager incomes while the POTUS doesn't, is there a way you can turn wise, fast?
23
Again. If it walks like a duck and take like a duck, it's a crook.
12
The bottom line is: what has Trump got to hide and why is he so desperate to hide it?
32
Can not believe that there is not more to this story. Hope the House investigates how out of the blue Supreme Court judge Kennedy retired to allow trump to install another conservative judge to the court. Remember his son is an executive at this bank and worked with trump. Payback? Part of a deal? Blackmail? Please look into this.
66
RJg has raised a brilliant, important and buried piece of yet another Trump crime- the real deal about now retired justice Kennedy’s son-in-law (employed in the Deutche Bank real estate Dept.), and The timing of Kennedy’s retirement, and the fact that Kavanaugh was his choice. And let’s not forget Kavanaugh was not on the original short list but added belatedly. Of course trump doesn’t want us to know about his finances. It’s the absolute Rosetta Stone to trumps global crime syndicate. And Deutche Bank is the key.
45
Trump is a classic case of be careful what you wish for because you might actually get it. The office hasn’t been anything like he had imagined & hoped. Trump should have known better than to think the American people would ever accept him & his ideologies.
25
So, to summarize, Deutsche Bank is a sketchy organization, at best, and Trump is above the law. This is possible in the USA today.
21
Donald Trump has long conned lenders, contractors, students, customers and others. His "marks" have traditionally, though not exclusively, been the "little guys" who succumbed to his blandishments, while his victims have been those who attempted to hold him accountable for his own failures to perform as required.
Now, he has moved on to turning an entire nation into his "mark," purporting to be a man of the people, while foisting his unrighteous indignation on the rest of us.
He has never cared about the "little guys," and doesn't now. He's seeking special treatment through his standard operating procedure: when all else fails, sue. He, and even his fans, may yet discover that while he may be playing in the big leagues now, he's ultimately not capable of playing big league ball, and Mighty Donald may yet strike out.
49
Presidents in recent history have made their financial history, in the form of tax return, public. Trump has refused to do this, and is now fighting legitimate subpoenas for financial records. What do you suppose he is trying to hide?
37
@David Gordon, I would guess either evidence of his Money Laundering for residents of the former Soviet Union, or the "News" that the 'Billionaire' has no Money (net).
While there are numerous other possibilities, those would be 2 of the most devastating to his "Brand".
The 1st would give him a jumpsuit to match the color o f his hair. The 2nd would destroy 30-40 years of blatant Lying and pull the rug out from under his "empire".
20
Tax evasion tax fraud comes to mind.... which was already proven by Michael Cohen when he released several years Trump’s taxes to Congress.
18
@David Gordon I think what's so disingenuous about Trump is he gives the impression he does not mind showing his tax returns but he uses the old, tired refrain "I'm under audit.' Even though nothing stops someone from releasing his tax returns while under audit. But Trump gives the false impression that if not for the audit he would gladly release his tax return. But Trump will never release, and has no intention, to release his tax return unless a federal judge orders him to do so. Yet his die-hard supporters fail to see how dishonest the man is.
7
Opacity is essential to the conman. That is the fundamental reason Mr. Trump will exhaust all possibilities to prevent Deutsche Bank from providing information to federal investigators. Some things actually are simple.
45
Does it make a difference that he's President? If you or I were under an investigation of any sort, there wouldn't be any trouble obtaining our financial records? I understand any credit agency is able to report the status of our finances at any time.
I know it makes a difference if you can afford lawyer(s)...
48
We will have a hard choice when it is revealed how much of a criminal Trump and his family is.
32
@gene Actually, many of us will have an easy choice, not a hard one. We already do.
32
@gene
A hard choice at the voting booth? Perhaps for some of those who claim they follow the teachings of their religious beliefs and support him, but not for those who have a rock solid deep value of integrity, moral gravitas, honesty and dignity.
58
@gene
Sorry but those of us in NY have known this crook for years. He can’t even come visit this city as POTUS. The hardest thing has been waiting for the rest of the country to see the con man for what he is. It is deplorable how he has taken hard working voters for granted for his schemes and own welfare. It is criminal. Let all be revealed.
17
First the obvious: What is he hiding?
Secondly, what about former Justice Kennedy's abrupt departure when his son was implicated in tRump/Deutsche Bank shenanigans leaving the seat open to Kavanaugh or any other right wing nominee favorable to the current syndicate administration. That little episode got conveniently kicked under the rug.
92
Hey, GOP, remember Whitewater and the Clintons? It went on for years -- nothing untoward was ever found. Just as with Bengazhi.
In this case, Congress just wants the DB records in a one-shot investigation.
Why all the fear and panic?
76
What is the truth Trump is afraid of?
- He is less wealthy than he says?
- Massive tax fraud and loan fraud?
- Russian money, Russian connections which prove collusion? Or only conflicts of interest?
- Involvement in money laundering?
Any other thoughts?
64
@Tommy S Terms and conditions that demonstrate that he is not nearly as good a negotiator as he claims to be?
13
@Tommy S,
The 1st is nearly a given. The one Victim of his multitude of lawsuits who has gotten hold of his Returns and financials through 'Discovery' carefully indicated (following his legal limitations) that Trump's Gross Wealth was closer to $1B ... far from $10B.
Then, when you net out all the loans he is floating on ... he is either close to what his father gave him, or underwater.
That would certainly advance Loan Fraud as a probability.
There are suggestions he has ties to Jeffery Epstein's girl-child sexploitation network. There was a Jane Doe lawsuit against him during the Campaign alleging personal and 'physical' involvement. Plus, we have the Acosta white wash in the case in Florida.
NYT's prior reporting strongly suggests Tax Fraud for which there is no statutory limitations. However, I would presume that AG James and the director of the NY Dept of Taxation are already pursuing that in State actions - to which he has no defense.
14
Now why, one supposes, would Donald Trump sue to keep hidden evidence that he, as professed, has nothing to hide - unless...
57
Trump's game of whack-a-mole can't last much longer.
Deutsche Bank has a mountain of problems with the German government. Some may be criminal.
They also have a mountain here in NYC. They made bad loans to Trump without running a due diligence.
These are the big boys albeit snookered into an unsustainable position. Someone is going to take the fall. It won't be the bank - too rich, too powerful.
That leaves Donny and his kids (no geniuses here). It will take a while as US courts move at a glacial pace. But don't bet your quarter here.
52
What I really really want to see is the academic records of our stable genius.
56
@Joe B.
There is not one shred of evidence that Trump did half as well as he claims for the title he gave himself - a "stable genius".
And if he were a genius, he would drag out his superior grades at every opportunity. He knows it is just one of the 10,000 lies he has told.
27
@Joe B. Why? We know he didn't get good grades.
6
@Joe B.,
Spoiler alert!
Trump was admitted to UPenn, not Wharton School, following an intervention by his late brother with a friend in the administration. He took 2 classes in the Wharton curriculum. Of the two, the famous professor Kelly adjudged Trump "the dumbest g-dd-mn student I ever had".
Actually, no spoiler. I think most of us have already figured that out.
18
Is it that the Deutsche Bank records will show that Trump is a grifter, so laden with debt that he really has no wealth at all? Is it because it will show the pattern of fraud that Trump has been known for over his whole crooked career? Or is it becuase it will show the unholy connection between the resignation of Anthony Kennedy from SCOTUS and his son, Trump's banker, that led to the nomination and Republican confirmation of the odious Justice Beerpong?
97
Thank you Peter for an incredibly well written summary. You said it all!
10
Default on a loan and then sue the lender for giving you the loan. This is the metaphor for the age of Trump I have been waiting for.
92
@Jack it's like the kid who killed his parents and asked the court for mercy because he was an orphan!
16
It’s your fault - you trusted me.
15
What is the explanation for an attack not on the subpoena but on the recipient of the subpoena? On what logic can the Trumps seek to force that recipient to bear the risk of not complying with the subpoena? This looks like litigation meant actually to avoid a ruling on the central issue whether the subpoena is legal, but to obtain a scenario in which to obtain delay.
31
Trump is so obviously unsuited for the job of president, and yet there's no indication that he'll be stepping down any time soon. It's difficult to imagine how the US can ever bounce back from this.
50
“Bounce Back” from what?
Unemployment is at a record low, stock market record highs, US tech companies are dominating the world and China is negotiating.
I didn’t vote for Trump and I will vote against him in the next election, but that remains politics.
Other nations leaders are often just as embarrassing.
7
@Rony Weissman Yes, despite Trump.
14
@Rony Weissman Bounce back from Environmental destruction and mounting and ever widening inequality in our nation, as national policy; treatment of children and families at the borders' increasing blurring of line between church and state,;ever expanding wars[] oppression of women and increasing death rates in childbirth - do I have to go on? Is the ' economy' as defined by the stock market and which Trumps actions have only affected in a negative way, (ask the farmers) really the ONLY thing trumpsters care about? Your worlds are so distorted that you can't understand anything other than financial statistics? You can't see how interconnected everything is??
41
This man is falling beautifully! Watergate was a picnic compared to this one.
54
Acts that are essentially larcenous can often more easily be hidden in open public view than by keeping them in some underground cave---as was the case in the famous Holmes case where the stolen epistle was hanging on the wall--open for all to see. Trump excels in hiding criminal actions by keeping them open---psychologically giving the impression that he has nothing to hide. What, me break the law? I am he most honest man who ever existed !!
This is the case with the emoluments that are flowing in to Trump coffers from his Washington D.C. hotel, where lobbyists know they must pay the outrageously high prices to gain audiences. Similarly the Mar-a-Lago domain raised its membership fees to take advantage of closeness to power, and the granting of audiences with the great man. With Deutsche Bank, the chief launderers of Russian dirty money in the U.S.A., Trump follows accepted procedures , but closed to government inspection. Deutsche Bank probably has enabled Trump to gain massive, needed loans from his Russian friends and benefactors. Trump's approach is to hide his malfeasance in this manner--- not to move away from the superficial appearance of legality.
46
Maybe I am missing something here but what about the witch hunt carried out by the IRS against European banks with US clients in the search of undeclared income? Multiple fines for major banks to the point that most of them now refuse US clients.
Is Trump an exception or am I missing the point?
23
The saddest part of all of this is that even if something truly nefarious is found there will remain about 40% of the population that won’t care.
The election of President Trump and the continued willingness to champion behaviors totally unsuitable to the office reflect a moral crossroads for America. Have we learned anything or just given up on trying to be a better nation and people?
71
@John Vance
You speak of the 40% of the voting population as his reason to be, but missed the forest for the trees. In reality it is the Republican Party that has circled it's wagons around this man to maintain their hold on power. Without that steadfast protection of the Party, his 40% would probably vanish.
The Republican Party is still in the middle of a good dream, they currently have pretty solid control of the Executive Branch, the Judicial and the Senate, lead by McConnell. The only shame is that in their thirst for power they have lost any semblance of the protectors of the Constitution and Democracy.
16
@John Vance Remember though... he LOST the popular vote against a historically unpopular candidiate, in the context of unconstitutionally gerrymandered districts... are we really concerned that after 4 years of his "leadership" he's going to be MORE competitive in 2020?
7
DB should have stayed away from Trump just like the other banks did. Everything he touches becomes corrupt.
Living in Washington myself, I just hope he is less contagious than measles.
29
American law and tax rules make us one of top enablers of corrupt oligarchs, corrupt government officials,war lords,and others. Trump is only one of many. The publishing of the Panama papers is full of examples of how we and others enable the world wide kleptocracy
26
@Dr John
No. I’m a corporate tax lawyer, I do this for a living. In general foreign persons go to great length to avoid activity which would bring them within the reach of US tax law. The Panama papers scandal had to do with persons’ and entities’ (some US, some foreign) financial activities intended to keep money well outside the reach of US and other taxing authorities through ethically dubious and sometimes flat out illegal activity. American law and tax rules had nothing to do with any of this, unless you count the fact that they exist and wealthy people go to great length to avoid paying tax.
18
everyone knows about the russia- deutsche bank- trump connection. who else would lend him money after all his failures ? all of a sudden he made a comeback in the 90s at about the same time the russian oligarchs started making big money. duh ???
40
Maybe the relationship was symbiotic for DEUTSCHE BANK AND TUMP but you make a safe bet it was parasitic for many, many others.
15
'Why Trump wants to block Deutsche Bank ... ?'
We assume for the same reason he wants to block any and every investigative or oversight effort by Congress, the Justice Department, and officers of the court.
Remember this is the guy who attacked Clinton staff for taking the Fifth in front of Congress. Said Trump at an Iowa campaign rally “The mob takes the Fifth. If you're innocent, why are you taking the Fifth Amendment?”
Mind you, this from a guy who is no stranger to taking the Fifth himself in the past. And now his days are spent making sure his appointees and underlings refuse to utter one word under oath.
Objective people will draw their own conclusions.
37
This is why, along with all the other garbage he's engaged in, Trump is DESPERATE to win re election. He assumes he cannot be prosecuted while a 'sitting' president. Therefore he will do & say anything to be re elected. For example, today's story about 'infrastructure, with Mulvaney 'advising' Trump. He is as interested in infrastructure as a fish is in bicycles. Ditto every other 'issue'; remember, he 'promised' his base a great medical insurance plan ... in his 2nd term ! - (fool me once ... )
To the dems, led by Chuck & Nancy: spend the time to come out with a well researched, factually supported plan for infrastructure. Cover the gamut. Present it to the public. Create a program which will be the basis of legislation that will eventually be passed, to some degree, by this administration or the next.
Let Trump blubber and make scary faces while Mulvaney indulges in phony machismo. Challenge him to propose something better. He won't. It doesn't matter to him. All that matters is winning the election so he can avoid the judgement he deserves.
January 2021, from SDNY to Fed charges, Trump's head will be spinning. He deserves it.
33
You dance with the devil (Trump), you’re gonna get burned. Ask any bank, contractor, lawyer or business person who has ever worked with him.
36
The question isn't why Trump wants to block Democrats from sharing his financial records. The question is why Republicans, even so called anti-Trump Republicans have refused to call Trump out on his lack of transparency when it comes to his finances and the ways he and his family are self dealing.
Apparently, even Republicans who despise Trump have no problem with a plutocrat/oligarch as President. As long as he doesn't raise their taxes, they're good.
41
@DebbieR - I suspect if Trump were called out for his undisclosed financial records or secret bank accounts, most supporters would consider it a white-collar crime of no real consequence. If Tax evasion was part of his scheme, ardent fans will likely blow it off cause you can bet many are guilty of the same thing, regardless of party affiliation.
11
Not surprising that an ethically challenged and alleged criminal bank has the Trumps and Jared as clients.
18
The Financial Services and Intelligence Committees need to have someone make sure that in order to protect Trump no documents are culled and withheld from what Deutsche Bank turns over. He's crooked and it seems historically so is the bank.
13
With a stubborn resistance to disclose his tax filing returns and now blocking the banks to share his financial details with the Congress Trump is only proving his business history of financial frauds and cheating.
16
With stubborn resistance to disclose his tax filing returns and now blocking banks from share his financial details with the Congress Trump is only proving his business history of financial frauds and cheating.
4
I'm not getting too excited about the possibility that the favored bank for Russian Oligarchs to lander their millions -Deutsche Bank, actually did funnel Russian money to Trump dressed up as loans. It's tempting but it's just as likely at the end of the day that DB is guilty of nothing more than extremely reckless lending in the New York based Private Banking division. Apparently separate divisions in DB are very siloed and DB bankers in Germany were genuinely shocked when they learned of the massive loans made to Trump, a famously terrible credit risk, by the private client bankers in New York (including retired Supreme Court Justice Kennedy's son Justin Kennedy).
What seriously does need to be answered is how a massively indebted Trump suddenly became flush with cash starting around 2007 when he started buying golf courses and properties, paying for them all with cash. Where did Trump suddenly get hundreds of millions in cash from and where did that cash flow into, his Capital one bank account? Hopefully the DB records and Capital One records provide a pathway.
44
Retired banker. I have a hunch that some lenders flip loans to fool bank examiners. Make a loan to a company/entity/LLC. When that loan becomes delinquent, have another different department of the same bank make a new loan to that delinquent borrower - to pay off the delinquent loan. End result - Mr. Examiner - our loan portfolio is clean. Experienced and competent/ethical examiners know this game. They know how to spot it. Not hard if one asks the right questions and looks at the right documents.
60
@Gordon JonesExcellen comment. One would hope the NY supervisors would not be fooled by that though.
12
Do we need any more evidence that Trump has a lot to hide, and that he will do anything to conceal the proof of his larceny?
If Deutsche Bank is not an American entity, it should be barred from doing business in the United States. And if it is an American entity, it should be investigated and punished.
33
@Miriam If Trump is hiding something, and maybe a lot more then that, and Deutsche Bank is ready to transfer information to Congress, why should Deutsche Bank be barred from doing business in the US?
What was unlawful about lending money to Mr. Trump's business?
2
@Miriam - It's no secret a lot of people conceal their wealth by using overseas banking institutions. If Deutsche Bank releases the president's financial transactions, I suspect there will be a mad rush to transfer funds elsewhere to avoid any investigation or punishment. Could be the end for Deutsche Bank if they comply.
4
@robert
what may have been unlawful was the source of teh money lent. The connections across the Private Banking company will likely demonstrate that illegal Russian money was laundered into Trump real estate purchases. The loans themselves may not be illegal but they will just be a small part of the info on him.
There is also the likelihood of fraud in his applications for those loans.
5
Sorry folks I am still under audit and I can not release my returns until the audit is over ...fast forward 2 1/2 years later.
23
Trump doesn't want Democrats to "pry into his personal affairs" but he sure was happy to have the Russians hack into Democrats' private emails. What goes around comes around.
70
Every Democrat running for the presidency should release their tax returns publicly. Then every single week from now until election at least one candidate should keep bringing Trump's tax return issue up over and over. Keep on point, stay on point with the idea of "what's he hiding?" Keep pointing out that every other president has released his returns. The more suspicious the public is, the more will not vote for him. Push this message to the young voters non-stop.
79
@Fred
the house has already passed that. it is sitting on mitchs' desk. he wont bring anything to the senate floor.
17
So proud of my congressman Adam Schiff and our neighbor Maxine Waters
100
I basically wrote this comment yesterday and they didn't print it. There's no mention here of Justice Kennedy's son who helped arrange the loans while working at Deutsche Bank. Why did Justice Kennedy retire so abruptly? He wasn't sick. I have never seen a judge retire from the high court while they were still in decent working shape. They usually stay till the bitter end... Plus who backed up Trump's loans? I believe it was Russian mobsters, & oligarchs, friends of Putin. People that are being harmed by sanctions. Also Erik Prince of Blackwater fame, Betsy DeVos's brother is involved. He is mentioned in the Mueller report. Arranging meetings with Russians. As well as Roger Stone. This is the trail that Congress should follow. The Deutsche Bank money trail. It's no wonder Trump & family are trying to stop it. But will Congress take it all the way.?
119
@Doctor Woo "Justice" Stevens' son's work as a money lack for Trump is most interesting. The MSM didn't really follow that thread of possible evildoings at all.
17
@Doctor Woo
Ivanka had lunches with Justice Kennedy shortly before he retired.
Perhaps there is nothing, my paranoia, but that is the way he deals, by digging into everyone's dirty secrets.
17
@Doctor Woo They weren't mentioned because there was nothing improper done by either of them.
https://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2018/jul/10/blog-posting/did-justice-kennedy-quit-due-family-ties-trump-and/
America is being run by a cheap two bit hood whose shady finances can't face the glare of transparency.
77
Are the tax returns given to DB the same as the ones filed with the IRS?
27
If Mr. Trumo has nothing to hide, why is he trying to stop the Deutsche Bank and others from giving what the Democrats want regarding his financial dealings?
33
If Trump's financial records made him look good, he'd be dropping photocopies of them from the roof of Trump Tower.
86
@Diego
Thanks for the humor, but that would be too subtle.
He'd project huge photocopies on the blank walls of his buildings.
15
Trump lives the life of a billionaire on borrowed money he has no intention of paying back. He's probably flat-out broke. The problem is, when you borrow from Russian oligarchs, they don't turn tail and fade away when you don't repay them. How is Trump repaying these not-very-nice-men? Selling out the U.S. maybe?
83
Phenomenal — and phenomenally disturbing — this guy got to the White House amid so many lies and so much obfuscation. Let the sun shine in.
53
Voters have a right to know whether or not their President is a crook. Why? Because if he is, then he can't be trusted - period.
25
@Chicago Guy You are still asking if Trump can be trusted? It is self-evident from everything that he has lied about from the day he took the Oath of Office and before that he can not. Surely there has never been a POTUS less trustworthy.
42
When Mr. Trump, the citizen, decided to run for public office, he moved into a glass house.
If he doesn't like the situation he is in, he should resign, otherwise American citizens need to know just what potential conflicts of interests are hiding in Trump's closet.
82
@Ronn
This is an imperial presidency. Trump admires dictators and autocrats because he thinks of himself as a "strong man," cut from the same cloth.
17
Deutsche Bank loaned you know who, hundreds of millions of dollars.
Just imagine what they must loan to individuals with good credit.
Yikes!
23
Trump loses on this one and I don 't think it is going to take years to resolve. Trump has no case and its not a case that is going to need to rely on lots of discovery, expert witnesses, or matters being in factual dispute. It's purely a con law issue regarding Congressional power. What I don't know is how Congress can accelerate the schedule.
41
Earl Warren was a defeated gubernatorial candidate, when President Eisenhower appointed him to the Supreme Court. Considered a moderate who was believed to maintain the status quo, he instead became one of the giants of Supreme Court. His rulings on civil rights and due process still stand as crucial landmark decisions. Generations of Americans will study the impact this man has had in protecting the Constitution during a very tumultuous time in Americas history. My advice to any person appointed to carry great responsibility, rise above all pressure and expectations and make America proud.
23
I am hopeful that Congress can get Trump´s tax records. However, why stop there? Congressional leaders of both parties ought to do the same. Transparency goes both ways on the Capitol Mall
27
I predict DB will release the records and then lose its FDIC charter as Trump's accomplice/partner in money laundering. Justice Kennedy resigned because he knows that his son is going to prison.
47
The man who wanted to verify Obama's birth certificate doesn't want us to verify his financial records.
You couldn't make this up.
216
The height of hypocrisy
19
@Somewhere But, he is under audit. And we couldn't understand his complex tax returns, anyway. Trump is saving us from outselves.
Or, something like that.
15
Trump is the biggest show-off ever. IF he were successful his financial records would show it & he wouldn’t hide behind the kimono refusing to show. BUT we all know he’s a failed businessman. is this the reason Trump so smartly fights every move that even whispers to reveal his finances..? Or is it because the issue is actually MORE dire- not one of a failure but of a man who has committed financial crimes..? That kind of squares up more with Trumps very coherent & steadfast fight against revealing any financial information. Think about it, we ALL including media spend our time laughing at him for hiding his finances because we believe he’s embarrassed of his failures... BUT i think he’s out smarted us.. he plays the fool while hiding very dark & criminally liable financial postures... This angle may be worth investigating rather than Trump the financial clown.
44
I tend to agree. If true and with his personality Trump would put a full page ad in the NYT to show off his wealth and taxes and giving.
18
What’s in your wallet Mr Trump? Makes one wonder like Shakespeare he that doth protest. Donald maybe finally facing his Trump card!
43
It’s called public life for a reason. Time for the public to know what we’re paying for and what others are paying for. Conflicts of interest may dictate allegiances to the highest bidders.
Putin? Saudis? UAE?
What might be for sale if the price is right? Your honor? Your office? Your country? Your family?
60
@JMT
For one thing we are paying for him to play golf. So far, it's $99 MILLION.
By the way, he has no honor, and never has, so it obviously couldn't be that.
27
@Kittiecorner
And trump cheats at golf. Plus, trump's undocumented employees often have to work extra hours, unpaid, just to "keep" their "jobs."
No, I do NOT capitalize trump's name, nor do I put "president" in front of his name.
4
That was then. This is now. Who are Jared and Donnie Jr. borrowing from these days?
34
@SkepticaL Answer equals Qatar
14
@SkepticaL Someone in Qatar most likely.
12
@Skeptical
jared has always borrowed from Saudis.
8
If there's nothing to hide, why so afraid?
37
Trump is nothing more than the "Willy Sutton" of financial criminals." You rob where the money is." Of course Trump doesn't see anything wrong with his financial history: "it's all good business,"
18
Donny is no billionaire, no way. If he was, he would've released his tax returns ages ago--would've hand delievered them straight to Hannity for a Fox Special Report.
38
@NemoToad
Yes, he would have handed them out like candy--anything to show how "successful" he was!
8
@NemoToad
Fred Trump handed him hundreds of millions of dollars. Despite Donny's attempts to squander dad's money, he was basically born a billionaire. Of course, Donny would have been much wealthier if he had not invested in himself but in the S&P index .
5
It stands to reason the Trumps are desperate to block any scrutiny of their financial records, income taxes, etc.
They've already had their charitable Trump Foundation shut down for fraudulent financial behavior; the Trump University shut down for fraudulent financial behavior. Their highly questionable emoluments issues are currently being litigated.
Some Americans in his base will continue to tolerate/excuse this corrupt behavior but the rest of us have had more than enough.
71
@Susanna Don't forget the Kushner bailout by Quatar
17
THE PLAINTIFFS TRUMP CAN'T CONTEST THE SUBPOENA
Disregarding the "legitimacy" of the Congressional request, the plaintiffs must contend the power of Congress to ask for records within its legal powers.
The plaintiffs have no legal standing to contest the reason for the subpoena.
Congress has obtained similar records many times in the past through the use of subpoenas.
Plaintiffs must show this request is so different from all other requests that it makes this request illegal.
That is a most challenging hurdle.
The court will probably reject the suit without setting any new precedents.
32
Trump isn’t a billionaire and he doesn’t want anyone to know.
38
@Beto Buddy
Trump doesn't want anyone to see his academic record. He doesn't want anyone to see his financials due to tax/insurance/financial fraud.
10
Cyprus Bank...Thats where the money comes from...Follow the money .
43
Every criminal would like to do whatever they can to suppress evidence. Jail to the chief.
76
If he is innocent, Hey doesn't he just open his Records and the testify under oath about Mueller's concerns. That should clear up everything.
33
So why did Justice Kennedy flee the Supreme Court so fast? Was he afraid we would find out his son Justin, who worked at Deutsche Bank, was loaning Trump millions when no other bank in NY would look at him. Did Justin look the other way when Russian money flowed into Trump's accounts?
115
@Jacquie I've been wondering whether Kennedy's abrupt resignation, so that Kavanaugh could be appointed, was in return for a promise from Trump to pardon Justin.
59
@Jacqie, thank you so much for saying so eloquently what I was thinking.
21
Promise of a pardon maybe?
6
Trumpty Dumpty is fit to be tied,
When his finances show how much he has lied.
He’ll sniff & he’ll snarl - and attack wildly,
Any and all who would dare disagree.
28
Well done!!
7
Why does trump want to stop the banks from complying with subpoenas? Because he is a lying, cheating, fraud.
75
Why trump wants to block the banks from answering to subpoenas? Because, he is a lying, cheating, fraud.
13
Trump is suing the bank in order to cover his long time shenanigans. He is a crooked man, a real con artist with excellent eye to grab valuable properties. An adulterous man blindly followed by some evangelicals driven by hate.
35
Let if flow
Let it flow
Let it Flow
6
As an in-house lawyer for a large industrial corporation ( before my blissful retirement ), I often insisted on being subpoenaed before producing sensitive documents. It protected us against subsequent lawsuits for invasions of privacy, breach of trust and the like. Subpoenas can be defensive as well as offensive. They are a great tool, and I am very much in favor of them, as evidently is Deutsche Bank. Nothing can happen to them as a result of responding to an apparently valid subpoena.
89
@Helmut Wallenfels
Interesting perspective. Thanks for that.
12
always ask for a subpoena when asked to testify.
8
As all bankers well know : Big loans usually end badly especially when the borrower is of dubious character.
Godspeed Adam Schiff. Just remember this : Nothing is off limits. Trump is our employee. We elected him and we pay him. Not for nothing are elected officials called public servants. And let us keep reminding Trump that he is simply a servant.
141
I think the hatred that so many feel toward Donald Trump drives stories like this and in the end, there's really nothing to gain. If Deutsche Bank were to release the Trump family's records, the result will most likely be the same thud that came out of the release of the Mueller report: no clear proof of criminality and not enough meat to feast on.
I have a friend who wanted the Trump tax returns released to prove that "he's not as rich as he wants people to believe he is". Maybe, but a tax return is only a reflection of what income and expenses are reported in a certain year, not a statement of net worth. And the investments he holds are likely no different that any wealthy person's regardless of political affiliation.
For all those who are thinking "where there's smoke, there's fire" in the Trumps' efforts to keep the Deutsche Bank reports private, consider this: my friend may be right. The emperor may not have the newest clothes and his image may take a hit but "image is everything" was never a crime.
And he'll still be President.
2
Image IS everything for this grifter
EVERYTHING
32
Barr lied and Mueller wrote to him telling him so. The report is about to become thunder when Mueller testifies. At the end of the day Trump is a crook ad the Republican party his accomplices.
53
@Angieps If someone does not have anything to hide, why keep hiding it?
37
Why on earth would any bank loan Donald Trump $300 million after he not only defaulted on a $40 million loan, but sued the bank that lent it, claiming his default was all their fault? Unless, of course, the $300 million belonged to somebody else--somebody more than happy to put it into Trump hands, perhaps in hopes it would buy them something bigger down the road.
Eric Trump has been quoted as saying, "Well, we don't rely on American banks. We get all the funding we need out of Russia." He now denies having said it, of course, but it certainly looks like the Trump organization had a sugar daddy out there somewhere--a sugar daddy willing to give him hundreds of millions when nobody else in their right mind would even dream of it. The American public has a right to know just who that sugar daddy is. And just why that sugar daddy was so willing to throw so much good money after so much bad.
105
@Steel Magnolia anyone else would be in jail for money laundering ..Russian ogliarchs were using trump to wash dirty money ..via Cyprus bank ..thru the germans .
34
They could afford to lose tbe entire amount
Of undeclared Russian cash income
7
@paul Retired Supreme Court Justice Kennedy's son, Justin, who worked at Deutsche Bank, gave Trump all those loans. Was he looking the other way when the Oligarchs funneled money into the bank for Trump?
26
Is it just me, or does everyone feel that they’re trapped in a bad nightmare, and that even if Deutsche Bank releases a treasure trove of information, nothing will be done about it? I really hope I’m proven wrong.
94
@blondiegoodlooks. The thickest layer of teflon...ever. I don't get it...but history will be unkind to trump, mcconnell, barr etc. and they deserve it.
11
cause he is not who he says he is financially ,he and his family are grifters ,no reputable US bank will service a loan to him,they understand what the voting public doesn't understand he is not who he says he is
42
Unmentioned is this article is the Anthony Kennedy-Son-Trump Banker connection. How can we be sure that Kennedy's resignation wasn't purchased with German Bank money. There's no corruption Trump is incapable of. Indeed none that he doesn't embrace.
77
I don't care for Russia Gate. I care hard numbers that show incontrovertible proof that Russian money was laundered by Trump, DB acting as intermediary!
16
The problem with the Democrats pursuit of the great white whale, the definitive proof of financial fraud or misdeeds committed by Trump, is that they are searching for the proverbial needle, when the haystack is the proof of malfeasance. Trump poses a danger to our democracy not because he attempted to or did defraud one of his lenders, but because he has openly defied the norms of transparency and fidelity to the Constitution and nation that reassure us that the President holds the national interest as paramount. Failure to disclose his tax returns, to effectively divest his opaque, private business interests, and conduct of government business not merely through nepotism, but with relatives who have their own business conflicts, coupled with his divisive, bigoted rhetoric establish his unfitness for the office he holds.
If their quest fails to find the needle, and the whale evades their harpoons, which is likely, Trump, his “base” and his GOP lemmings will be further emboldened...even as he continues his reign of error . The lesson learned would be that failure to abide by the expected norms acceptable as long as there is no actual wrongdoing. In reality, it is the failure to abide by such norms that is objectionable.
The norms set the rules of behavior not only for Trump, but for the future..and a future demagogue may be worse thanTrump. He may be smart..
44
Stonewalling equals guilt. But what kind? Money laundering guilt? Vanity guilt? Americans want to know.
21
Former SCOTUS Justice Anthony Kennedy and his son, Justin, the former head of Deutsche Bank's commercial real estate lending arm that gave Trump $2.5 billion, ought also be a little nervous about this. Justin Kennedy was Trump's personal banker at Deutsche Bank.
81
It looks like Trump is trying to hide something. His supporters must be angry because he's becoming the very swamp creature they didn't want.
26
Becoming?
20
@Gene
I strongly doubt they're angry. They will look the other way; attempt to justify why he is absolutely, undeniably correct, and wade in the swamp alongside him.
13
@Beautiful One, Just recently, I've broken free from the cynical view you offer. Have you noticed how few elected officials and private citizens have tried to exculpate DT from the misdeeds enumerated in the Mueller report?
The more documentation of Trump's self-serving contempt for law and constitutional oversight, the fewer people are rushing in to his defense--FOX voices being the major exception. Irrefutable documentation gathered by the oversight committees will bring down this miscreant. Finally, I am optimistic!
2
I seriously doubt Deutsche Bank wants any of this in the open -- they're probably hoping Trump's bogus suit somehow holds up. The reality is they probably knew very well that Trump had fraudulently inflated the value of his properties and now they're faced with having to repo them at a great loss. I'm sure they're holding out hope that Trump can keep this hidden while he gets some rich Saudi or Russian Oligarch to come bail him out. This whole thing is dirty, rotten, corrupt and the lot of them need to be in jail.
28
@Brannon Perkison DB will be happy to hand over everything they have. They are fighting for their regulatory survival.
15
@Paul - Right. If DB doesn't cooperate, they could lose their charter to operate in the USA.
10
There is a good chance the forensic of Deutsch Bank records will reveal the entire House of Trump... Or house of cards
20
The mad king must be raging. Follow the money.
24
“What’s he hiding?”
The mandatory chant at every Democratic candidate rally.
Let patriotism live.
28
Those who brag the most, have the least.
25
Mr. Trump and his various children from various wives, do not want America to get a wiff of his troubling financial deals.
16
The walls are closing in on one of the sorriest criminal masterminds of all time - the only question is which of the following will be his undoing....SDNY and his numerous financial crimes....impeachment for his criminal obstruction of justice.....or a crushing defeat at the polls in 2020.....or what he truly deserves...all of the above??
40
@Frank Roseavelt Well said Frank...to call our 45th president a criminal mastermind...for surely he is that...evil also seems fitting.
10
If it has feathers and webbed feet and walks and quacks.....of course Trump is a sitting duck!
11
Fact: With multiple bankruptcies in his past, Donald J. Trump is a credit risk.No American banks will lend him money. Deustche Bank does so. Why?
Many have speculated that our president has a co-signer on his debts. Who would co-sign seems to be an incorrectly phrased question. Perhaps the question should read "What country would co-sign on his debts?"
I hope Ms Waters and Mr. Schiff provide us with an answer.
52
As an immigrant from Germany, I am amused by the mistakes German companies make trying to break into the American market. I suspect Deutsche Bank now wishes it had not taken a bold flyer on Trump when no American bank wanted to lend to him after his multiple bankruptcies, and Bayer wishes it had never heard of Monsanto after that horrendous Roundup judgment in California.
33
It sounds like Deutsche Bank is ready to sing like a canary. Trump and his crime family should be very worried.
83
So whose funds were propping up the bankrupt Trump enterprises? Did they have Russian names? What did Justin Kennedy know?
56
What political gains democrats get from the documents? If the documents are accurate based on legitimate income, then it is a political gain for Trump and his claims of witch-hunt by democrats gains traction. Hopefully, somewhere somehow forms a crack to the wall he is building himself around him to get a peek into his business activities. That would open the floodgates into his entire business relations to the foreign governments and foreign nongovernmental entities.
9
@Kodali
If the material was favorable, do you think Trump would be trying to stop it? If the information released showed "Art of the Deal" skills, Trump would be tweeting about it none stop.
28
Why does he want to block Deutsche Bank from releasing his financial records? He's not actually a billionaire, and/or Russian. Money. Laundering.
(I suppose as an officer of the court I should add: Allegedly.)
43
Trump erased whatever line there might have been by bringing his business with him into the White House. His choice. I have one word for him: “Whitewater”.
47
Shame on those congressman for using subpoena as a political weapon.
a terrible precedent.
let's hope rule of law, and acting in the best interests of the country returns. Right now, all are acting in their own interest or in polarized party interest.
sad situation.
3
Deutsche bank is not a bank; It is a criminal enterprise known for laundering dirty money for the worst despots around the world, including New York City’s moneyed underground.
Why has it taken this long for any government oversight to kick into action? And is it even action, or just a tepid ask that will not expose the real backbone of dark money - human trafficking, drugs, illegal weapons smuggling, commercial real estate?
79
Trump’s strategy is to stonewall everything to “his” Supreme Court. Hopefully, Beerman, etc. will see through this. And, that Trump’s paid lawyers, not our Justice Department, fight these battles.
25
@Mike G - Kavanaugh has his own money issues (we never did find out who suddenly paid off his debts). He'll do whatever he's been paid to do.
2
"Russian" "dollars" -- while Russia under sanctions.
37
If there’s nothing there then what’s DJT so worried about?? By protesting and fighting so much against it for so long he’s even brought more attention to his financial situation. Now everyone wants to know!
67
I would like to see the tax returns and financial statements for every member of Congress. If they have nothing to hide why would they object? Or are you only interested in getting information about someone you despise?
6
@Robert Bowman
No whatabouts.
19
@Robert Bowman I am interested in seeing the tax returns and financial statements of a pathological liar and n'er do well who enriching himself at the expense of our country. You?
25
All those attorney fees for Donald J. Trump! And our government won’t even raise minimum wage above $7.25/hour for the rest of us.
47
"Benedict Donald" continues to show us his TRUE colors - and they are NOT Red White and Blue.
51
@betty sher
Actually the Russian flag is also red white and blue
13
@PJ
but no stars.....which are circling above
the road runner in the White House as he falls off
a cliff of his own making and yet again......
My apologies to the Road runner....who is very funny......trump not even a little bit funny......
9
One can only surmise that Trump's actions are the result of a person that has info to hide, has something not to be revealed to the public, has something he knows will bring great embarrassment to himself or to his family, has something that will reveal his lies made to the American people time and time again. It is a shame it takes so long to reveal the deception of crooks. Our legal system is founded on the premise that all actions should be taken to protect the guilty, not to reveal the truth. Pitiful.
32
Trump looks more and more like a crook every day, and the Republican Party complicit in the degradation of our country.
Time to vote the bums out.
97
@Democracy / Plutocracy
LOL!! trump was a crook starting 40 years ago, to anybody paying attention.
20
@Democracy / Plutocracy Sorry, but he’s been looking like a crook for many decades.
15
Do Donald Trump and his advisors realize that their constant stonewalling amounts to screaming “GUILTY, GUILTY, GUILTY?”
54
It's a reverse "whitewater" and will pivot with Republican support or capitulation should anything substantial be uncovered. I take no schadenfreude in Trumps comeuppance, but he is due.
25
It's unfortunately the damage Trump (with the help of Republicans) have done to the office. Now we'll have to child proof the presidency. The major flaw in our constitution is we've always assumed the president would put the country above all else, we now know we were naive.
115
@Foxrepublican
I am surprised that a Foxrepublican is saying this.
21
@Foxrepublican
“Now we’ll have to childproof the presidency.”
Ha, ha, good one and, sadly, oh so true.
15
@Foxrepublican
That "The major flaw in our constitution is we've always assumed the president would put the country above all else" is a good point, but I think not the truly fundamental issue. I think the major mistake the founders made was to assume that the vast majority of voters would have common sense and decency, and that they would put the country above all else." I'm not sure what they would have done - or what now should be done - with the realization that this is not the case.
7
At what point do Trump's opposition to and defiance of routine Congressional subpoenas become further evidence of obstruction of justice?
106
Deutschebank served as a conduit for Russian oligarch money to Dotard Donnie. It’s obvious.
65
Why? - In a few words - Because Trump's bank records will show he's a crook.
81
@Jim Brokaw, or, it is private, and anyone would want to keep it so.
The Dems are on a fishing trip, a witch hunt, to find dirt.
shame on dem.
2
@Joe Yoh
He's the president of our country and not some business guy now. He has to be transparent but has decided to stiff on his tax returns and maximize profits at every turn.
12
@Jim Brokaw, and broke. Don’t forget broke.
7
I am sure glad that the New York Times has inside sources that confirm why Trump wants to keep his personal financial business secret. I hope that they are more accurate than the sources that said Trump is personally guilty of collusion with the Russians.
7
@Robert Bowman He has not been tried. There no sources, just a verdict.
5
@Robert Bowman There is plenty of evidence of collusion, though not enough, perhaps, to prove conspiracy. Why is this so difficult for Republicans to understand?
40
he is guilty of collusion just couldnt hwt enough for coordination
8
It seems “low-IQ” Maxine Waters will have the last laugh. Revenge is a dish best served cold.
48
@TORQUEMADA - Trump will spend the rest of his miserable life being hounded by legal battles both civil and criminal. Waters won't be the only one laughing.
1
Why be so concerned if all was always on the up and up? It makes one wonder if Mr. Trump has pulled a Manafort.
32
Trump always acts like a very guilty person. You know the saying, if it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck and looks like a duck it is a duck. Trump is a crook.
70
Dollars are the property of the US Government, not the private individual. Private individuals use them but they don't own them. The government does. We are the government, in a democracy. We DEMAND to know what this private individual has done with OUR medium of exchange.
45
The obvious question is why would a bank continue to lend to you after 1) You defaulted on and loan, and 2) Sued the bank blaming your load default on the bank. This should, by itself, raise suspicion of something not quite Kosher going on.
98
I don’t like Trump, but it is not legitimate “oversight” for Congress to seek to obtain personal financial records of any citizen in hope of finding a problem that could be used for political advantage.
Ask yourself if you would have supported such an action by a Republican-led House Committee with regard to President Obama. If the answer is “no” then it is not appropriate to do the same to Trump. The fact that Trump may be morally bankrupt does not change the answer.
3
@Morgan David
The Congressional committee is investigating the Trump Organization, not Trump, the individual. Trump openly blurred and eliminated the lines between the office of the presidency and Trump Organization by not divesting from his businesses. There are so many conflicts of interests between office of the presidency and the Trump Organization businesses. Given the Russian financial dangling related to Trump Tower projects and sanctions as outlined in Muller Report, Cohen’s accusations of financial fraud under oath , Congressional committees are justified in their oversight review seeking Trump Org.’s financial records.
120
@Morgan David -- Is it legitimate legislative oversight if the political figure in question might be personally profiting from decisions they make in their official capacity? Like maybe... which countries get tariffs applied to them? Or which industries get tariffs applied to them? Or which countries get military assistance and military intelligence and logistics support (Saudi Arabia, I'm looking at you...)?
Would those be legitimate instances where legislative oversight is warranted to be sure that the US government's executive branch decisions are being made solely to benefit the interests of the United States first, and not the financial interests of any one person?
82
@Morgan David
There is ample concern here. Mr. Trump denied having any continued dealings with Russia and that was not true. Also remember that the nearly the very first action he took was to remove form the Republican platform the support for sanctions against Russia. Why? 140 documented contacts with Russia. Why? Indictments, imprisonment of people both in his campaign and admnistration, nearly all relate in some way with Russia. Why? Lying about contacts with Russia. Why? At least 10 example of actionable acts of obstruction. Why?
Early all these things relate to just one of 216 countries on this planet. So, yes, Trump seems to clearly like money and he has demonstrated little regard for the ethics involved in acquiring the same.
And finally, yes, being morally bankrupt is a reason. It was for Linsey Graham for a sexual dalliance. Why can't it be for something as vast as in what Trump has himself involved?
And, yes, if Obama was up to no good, I would expect the same thing. The difference is that Obama has standards. Trumps can't spell the word let alone live up to a decent standard.
74
So what crime has Trump committed that these bank records will help solve? Oh yeah, he beat Hillary. To me that explanation used to seem too simplistically trite to be valid but unfortunately Democrats are convincing me more all the time it is they the ones that are. That would explain their visionary excitement over Joe’s return.
3
@John Doe
It's WHAT CRIMES HAS HE COMMITTED!
15
They’d likely show whether his financial interests shape foreign policy. His behavior towards Russia and Saudi Arabia, for example, are pretty big clues that that’s likely the case.
39
@John Doe, If it can be proven that the president is not paying any taxes, then NO American citizen should have to pay any taxes. Fair is fair.
6
It was reported that Trumps loans may have been guaranteed by a Russian bank. Examining the banks records and Trumps returns might show that, or exonerate him of that embarassment.
35
When you are hiding your records, you have something to hide.
75
so it was DB, not the Russians, who got Trump elected. Had they not continued to give this guy one loan after the next and had they really gone after him when he defaulted, it would have been clear to all that the guy was a fraud. The veneer of him being a consummate business man would have been gone. Gee thanks DB.
38
Ok, I'm no fan of Trump but lets be honest. To many Americans this looks like an intrusive exercise by Democrats to go through Trump's personal and business records to find something to pin on him. they are asking what is the probably cause that supports this level of search? What makes this necessary? I think this needs to be explained or less Trump will appear as the victim and use it to his advantage.
5
@P Lock
The details in the Mueller Report makes this necessary. The testimony of his former lawyer makes this necessary.
His refusal to divest himself from his many businesses, including his Hotel where foreign dignitaries pay big bucks to stay, makes this necessary.
His incessant lying, embrace of Putin while he moves to rescind sanctions against Russia, withdrawal from a variety of treaties, etc, etc, etc (do I really need to list is all) makes this necessary. Saudi Arabia's pandering to his narcissism makes his necessary.
We will have confirmation, at some point, that he really is a fraud, that he HAS been lining his pockets at every conceivable turn (to the detriment of the country and the tax payer), and that he should have been removed from office long go.
28
@P Lock
In case you missed the hearing where Michael Cohen told Congress that he, Michael Cohen, sent phony financials to banks to try to get Donnie loans that he might well have not qualified for, he laid the basis for investigating those records, and in more general terms, Trump's businesses practices.
You must have missed that stirring daytime tv. It was almost as good the 1973 Watergate hearing in which Andrew Butterfield admitted to then Republican Senate Counsel (later Senator) Fred Thompson that there was a taping system in the Oval Office.
I liked the Watergate hearings, but what is going to start TOMORROW (AG Barr testifying before the Senate) will be MUCH better.
He is going to have to admit that he, the Attorney General, LIED to the American public in a failed attempt to cover Donnie's sorry rear end.
27
@P Lock
Trump is no victim, we are. We are the victims of Trump. If he can't come up with 40 million that he personally guaranteed, he's not much of a billionaire. I tend to agree with the people who say he is not worth a billion. Maybe that is what he wants to hide, among other things.
14
These financial records are surely what puts Trump and family in the crosshairs. Of course he wants the subpoenas quashed. But Congress has to pursue them; a lawsuit against the Bank can’t stop their compelled release of the records.
31
Mr. Trump has one goal - delay. As his history has shown, he will keep everything tied up in lawsuits while he tells his supporters what they want to hear, that he's as clean as fresh maple syrup and those pesky liberals are out to get him. Only he can protect them all. And some will continue to believe him as he pulls them into his narrative.
Thirty percent of them, anyway. Mr. Trump, for all his Wharton degree, seemingly cannot do basic math. He won by voters who wanted change and were willing to risk it with him and by their distrust of the Clintons. It was a very small group and not the majority that put him over the electoral college top. The core group may be steadfast but the numbers are dwindling as some wonder why he blusters more than he governs.
Congress has a right to demand Deutsche bank's cooperation but if it gets into the courts it could very well be after the election. Will any of his base ask themselves what he's hiding and why, or do they even care at this point?
A runaway train may not have hit you yet but if you're tied to the tracks it's just a matter of time. Mr. Trump's legal problems are just beginning. Who will bail him out when he's no longer president? I think we can assume it won't be Deutsche Bank.
56
@Kathy
His big dumb mouth will finally get him.....
the guy is a walking self-destruct machine......
Shakespeare is never wrong.....these guys fall...they call it
tragedy....when trump goes down all you'll hear is one big thud......then the cheers of a grateful nation.
6
Trump continues to act like a very guilty man with much to hide.
53
@Jim Houghton Ya think?
7
@Jim Houghton, that explains why those foxes in the English fox hunts are running so fast then too. Doh, I just used to think it was some elite blood sport. It’s really the search for the truth Chuck, Nancy and Adam are always talking about. I tip my top hat to the poor fox.
2
Dear NYT.Somewhere in your 2016 campaign archives you will find a clip of trump on the stump saying"if I release my taxes,I won't get elected".Please find it.
27
@susan mccall He did not say that, of course. But he did say that he could not release his tax returns because he was being audited. That, of course, was a lie. Apparently two lies in one statement; i.e. (1) he was not being audited, and (2) IRS rules do not prevent an individual running for office from releasing his tax returns if he his being audited.
So what's the truth? Why is Trump refusing to release his tax returns? Why is he suing everybody every which-way to keep his returns private? Is it any surprise that people want to know why? Especially given the fact that Mr. Trump seems to be unwilling to separate himself from his businesses while he is in office. Isn't it the duty of the Congress to try to find out why?
19
@JPQ oh yes he did and the 4 people I was with have ears too and guess what JPQ??they heard it too!it even rhymes...so there.
4
Deutsche Bk records should have been obtained more than a year ago. Republican Congress conspires to obstruct Justice
52
IF you decide to run for Public Office your entire life is supposed to be open to examination. Many politicians would have been ruined by what Trump has done since declaring his candidacy. I know Politicians lie, sure, but it doesn't mean they should get away with it.
If we broke the law there would be punishment. Same for the President. No one is above the Law in the USA. No one!
42
Does anyone here not share an iota of concern as to what Congress could possibly want these private financial records for? Have we not exhausted this Russia nonsense? Mr Trump was a private citizen when the corporation he owned took out these loans most assuredly as mortgages against his legitimate purchased properties. These were not personal loans I’m quite sure. For what possible credible reasons are these in the purview of Congress? Another imaginary boogie man? It reeks of nonsense. Perhaps we should request every politicians private mortgage documents - would love to hear how they all live so richly on a government salary.
4
We are not talking about records of every American politician, we are talking about the ongoing and historical financial records, of the current US President.
Unlike every US President since the 1980's Trump has refused to show any transparency regarding his financial records. Surely if his financial records were a positive for Trump, they would have been released years ago.
How many of Trump's base, would celebrate that Trump pays a lower rate of income tax, than they do?
35
What really reeks are Trump’s business practices and his continued lying about them. Yes, he was a private citizen, but there is every indication that he has been compromised by his business relationships and obligations. If everything was above board, why did he refuse to follow precedent and release his returns, instead making up story after story about audits, etc.
31
@The Dear Couldn't agree more, all politicians financial records should be public. But if you're president and Russians are financing your business interests through an institution that is suspected of money laundering, that has the potential of putting the President of the United States under Russian influence. Do you not believe Congress should find out if that's true? Did he collude with Russia to win the election? Or did he "turn a blind eye" making it hard to prove intent? There are legitimate questions if we want to preserve democracy. Why is Mr. Trump immune from any investigation separate from Russian interference in an election?
33
A desperate, cornered rat like Trump and his “crime family” would do anything to gnaw their way out of their self-constructed trap—which translates as, Do whatever it takes to be re-elected, the only route to avoid facing jail-time. Given his chronic mendacity and will to deceive, add the vast powers of the presidency and a rogue’s gallery of willing players who have subverted governments overseas with various false-flag causus belli,, and the peril to our democracy takes on a queasy immediacy.
49
Trump not wanting to release his financial history and his tax returns makes me feel that there is a 99% chance he has been crooked. If he isn't, release the info and don't fight hard and clear your name, President Trump. We are not stupid, and we see you are hiding something with your secrecy. All the democratic candidates have release their tax returns. How about you?
42
@K.M clear his name with the disinfectant that is sunlight. if you have nothing to hide, what's the problem, POTUS?
8
@K.M
Crooked?.....Spend a week in New York and then just stop anyone on the street and ask about trump......
He put the capital "C" in Crook.
6
oh please this going to the supreme court where he will be humiliated by his own actions in front of all his fans or base, can't decide what to call the less than 40 or the 1 percent.
13
Perhaps Trump has been selling Treasuries at a steep discount to Deutsche Bank in collusion with Mnuchin?
19
The mantra with a con-man like Trump is of course, “follow the money”—
To which I add, “and follow the Trump braggadocio about his money”.
18
Mr Trump- Look the American people in the eye, release your tax returns, and prove all the doubters wrong. Or, continue to show us you are likely a criminal. Your choice.
32
The Trump house of cards only glitters through smoke and mirrors. Following the money should put an end to this shambolic confidence family and profligate abusers of courts.
26
This is just more obstruction of justice by Trump. He started this line of obstruction when he fired Preet Bharara as US attorney . Bharara was investigating money laundering at DB.
Impeach or indict now! Enough!
38
If Deutsche Bank is eager to provide them per the article to debunk the notion they were money laundering for Russia -- it does not sound like the Dems are going to get what they hoped for anyway.
3
@CHM
Ur undoubtedly correct: Deutsche Bk destroyed the relevant records, but not all of them
7
What we hope for is to find out what this man is hiding.
5
Prior to Trump I had no idea that one could negotiate with prosecutors, block Justice Department actions, insult and demean judges, ignore letters requesting documents, decide whether or not to comply with legal orders, and treat summons and subpoenas as requests.
I'm concerned that there are many people in jail as ignorant as I of our rights. These people must either have a retrial or their sentences waived.
31
If Trump didn't want his entire life and the lives of his family exposed, he should have thought long and hard before making a run for the presidency. You are held to a much higher standard when you represent the United States than when you just represent the sham that is the Trump organization.
43
@Gino His ego got the better of him. He's been lying and blustering his entire life, why should he think being president would change things? Thinking things through is not in his wheelhouse. What's that cliche, hoisted by his own petard?
10
I would not be surprised- if someone would connect the dots-that there is a direct line between Deutsche Bank; the son of the former Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy (who worked for Deutsche Bank); Donald Trump, and Kennedy's rather quick decision to retire from the Court, leaving another vacancy that could be filled during the Trump presidency.
38
If it was anyone else's personal finances and business finances, including those from his family, I would say privacy prevails.
However, given the circumstances of his go-to bank and that institution's issues of money laundering, well, Trump may be tied to some of that business.
So, if he and his grifting family and businesses are innocent, well, he sure is making himself and the rest of his family appear to be very guilty.
20
How many days before we have Rudy Giuliani on the Sunday talk shows saying, "money laundering isn't really a crime," or "everyone lies on their loan applications, it's not like it is a real crime or anything." And maybe Bill Barr can explain that "the president was frustrated by not having all the money he wanted, so what else could he possibly have done but lie?"
44
@Dismayed Taxpayer
Hilarious comment, DT! But, I can see the possibility. Likelihood?
5
Please tell us, Mr. Trump: what was your reasoning behind asking a sitting American president to reveal his birth certificate?
65
Yes, do tell. It was the little man’s attempt to delegitimize Obama’s presidency. And then he has the audacity to claim that he is being harassed by the Dems and the press.
14
12 U.S. Code § 1829b. Retention of records by insured depository institutions recites:
(1) FINDINGS Congress finds that—
(A)
adequate records maintained by insured depository institutions have a high degree of usefulness in criminal, tax, and regulatory investigations or proceedings,
(2) PURPOSE
It is the purpose of this section to require the maintenance of appropriate types of records by insured depository institutions in the United States where such records have a high degree of usefulness in criminal, tax, or regulatory investigations or proceedings, ...
Clearly, CONGRESS in its wisdom legislated that banks that use federal insurance will keep records of transactions for purposes of investigation.
It would be illogical to argue that the very records that Congress requires to be maintained should be withheld from Congress when it undertakes a "regulatory investigation."
No other branch of the US government performs "regulatory investigations."
In United States v. Miller, 425 U.S. 435 (1976), the Supreme Court said:
The lack of any legitimate expectation of privacy concerning
the information kept in bank records was assumed by Congress in enacting the Bank Secrecy Act, the expressed purpose of which is to require records to be maintained because they "have a high degree of usefulness in criminal, tax, and regulatory investigations and proceedings." 12 U.S.C. § 1829b(a)(1).
Well, DUH.
Trump' suit is utterly without merit. The Supreme Court has spoken.
51
What are the chances that the "copy" of tax returns Deutsche Bank received are the same as the ones submitted to the IRS? Not very likely I think. And a quick comparison by a congressional committee will be irrefutable evidence of bank fraud and/or tax evasion. No wonder he is pulling out all the stops.
53
Trump agreed to provide his tax returns in exchange for billions from DB, but he didn’t turn them over to the American people as a show of good faith and trust in exchange for their votes for him to become the President of the United States. At least we know whose interests he respects and whose interests he’s willing to compromise.
71
I would say to good, honest, GOP voters, that it would appear reasonable, that we as a nation would not want the long time head of a criminal enterprise to be running our country. So it follows that any ligitimate businessman would have no issue opening up his books to congress so that he could prove that he had not comitted fraud or been involved in money laundering for Russian mobsters. Given that Donald Trump has passed a Guinness World record milestone of publicly lying more than 10,000 times, we as the people that he is supposed to work for need to know if there is any criminal activity that he has undertaken in the past or might still be going on.
125
That is ridiculous. What private citizen would welcome a Congressional investigation?
@The Dear
One with terrific tremendous returns, all beautifully approved.
15
@The Dear. ANY private citizen who has nothing to hide.
10
Is it possible to sue to gain as much time as necessary? This seems like a road with no end on sight... just show the tax returns, and if you are clean, then let’s keep moving, if not, pay the price. Simple.
47
@Arturo "Crooked Donald" will procrastinate as long as he can. Now, why would anyone do that unless they had LOTS to hide?
It will be up to the voters in 2020 to decide what kind of leader (s) we want. Truly a choice for the long term.
11
Follow the money.
Down goes Trump.
51
@LF
The beginning of the end...again?
2
I cannot imagine any reason other than money laundering for any bank to continue to lend to Trump after the 2008 rumble described in the article. They already knew him for a deadbeat.
Otherwise, it just makes their officials seem even more stupid, or careless, than normal bank loan officers. And that's a high bar! Adding to this is the stink attached to Deutsche Bank in general. So -- nothing proven, but a good bet that there are some felonies buried in those transactions.
49
@joel bergsman I remember reading that Trump's loan officer was Justice Kennedy's son and that he had to work to persuade Deutsche Bank to loan Trump money. Justice Kennedy was the Supreme that Jared and Ivanka persuaded to retire early than he had anticipated so that Kavanaugh could take his seat. These guys are in each other's pockets.
67
I'm so glad to know I'm not the only one who thought there timing of Justice Kennedy was odd. Especially when considering Kennedy's son was Trump's personal loan office at DB.
Personally, I'd LOVE an investigation into THAT manipulation of the highest Court in the USA!!!
32
@Jean. Yew betcha!!!!
4
With any luck, Deutsche Bank will be around for a lot longer than Donald Trump. And they know it.
This is a chance for an unhealthy organization to publicly clean up its act, or at least put on a show of doing so. I doubt they'll waste this chance to keep a perpetual loser like Trump happy.
59
@KJ DB was nearly bankrupt before Trump. They know that they won't survive this mess
Trump and DB are stalling for time.
2
Why does Edward J. O'Hare come to mind?
1
It doesn’t matter. Trump could be the biggest crook ( and that is probably not an exaggeration) on Wall Street and the GOP will fall all over themselves protecting him.... which is what they are doing now. The odorous smell of Trump can be withstood for the power. They don’t even hide it anymore.
58
The most pressing issue facing America is Russian election interference in 2020. Do we know Trump is a blustering, self-serving huckster? Yes. Do we suspect the President of criminal activity? Perhaps. But will Putin attempt to involve Russia in the upcoming national election? Intelligence services think so.
Barr's testimony is important. Kristjen Nielsen's testimony is more important. I want to know what she saw and heard when trying to present her fears/evidence to her superiors. I want to know why she was fired.
63
@Les Miller Interesting isn't it that she was fired after she brought 2020 election interference up to Trump's WH staff. It looks like shades of Sally Yates' firing to me.
31
@Rena W.
Respectfully, Kristjen Nielsen is no Sally Yates.
4
Had Trump been on the up and up all these years, he'd be begging people to read his tax returns, but funnily enough, he's petrified that they'll get ahold of anything about his business dealings. Worse, his kids are as liable as he is for all manner of financial folderol. Between the Mueller Report's bread-crumb trail and the New York Attorney General taking financial crimes seriously, the Trump family, the campaign, the Organization and the Foundation are fair game when it comes to finding out what's been going on before and during this administration. Once the documents start arriving, Trump's gonna have some 'splainin' to do!
96
I never thought twice about providing lenders my tax returns to take out loans. We can't get a job or an insurance policy without a credit check. Trump has an awful lot to hide, obviously.
130
What I heard is that Trump owes a big balloon payment to Deutsche Bank, $340 million, which he doesn't have, that would be interesting to find out if this was true or not.
58
@Bewley5
Were that the case, Deutsche would first contact their Russian contacts and ask for a payment of $340MM for services rendered, then suggest to Don Jr. that the payment due could be waived if the US got out of Syria.
Problem solved and everyone is happy.
22
Why shouldn't they be looking into his pre-presidential financial matters? Not only could they provide information on his connections to Russia, but also whether there are other illegal improprieties in both his past and his present. Remember that Spiro Agnew was forced to resign the vice presidency for corrupt actions he took before he assumed office which had continued after he was sworn in.
107
Following the money is so much more prosecutable without reasonable doubt than inferring definitively the intent (as was necessary for Mueller's investigation of obstruction).
And, these auditable accounting records may lead to non-federal yet major criminal charges delivered to the various Trumps' marble doorsteps.
61
It seems the Democrats interest is in getting Trump - not running the country.
At the moment the Democrats are showing the country they have no policies - just hate filled revenge.
Is this why some in the Democrats are concerned they will not win the next election if this continues?
8
@Rod check the news today.
Democrats are in talks with the President about an infrastructure bill. I'm astonished that President Trump's supporters think that his ties to Russia and the potential that he owes them money isn't relevant and that the Democrats should ignore those potential ties. President Trump's financial ties to Russia are very relevant to his foreign policy decisions.
If President Obama had refused to release his tax returns and there were questions about him taking money from Russia or any other foreign adversary, Republicans would have excoriated him.
182
@Rod the American people took 40 seats away from the Republicans and gave them to Nancy Pelosi, precisely to do what they are doing, stop Trump before he damages our democracy any more than he has.
91
@Rod I disagree with your thoughts. The Democrats are perusing a government where the rule of law and order are a priority. Trump loses that battle every time. Ever wonder why trump is so secretive? The answer is not because he like law and order. Did he fire Comey because he wants law and order? Nope.
Pry yourself away from faux news and into the real world. P.S. Remember that Sarah Sanders "does spread "fake news".
25
OK
The real reason is that people will find out the Liar is a crook. Pure and simple. Now if only his deplorables would wake up.
165
@Welcome Canada
Honestly, I don't think he or his supporters care. Trump doesn't want people to see that he isn't rich. It's that simple.
29
@Welcome Canada
deplorables.....and don't forget Lindsay Graham, Mitch McConnell and the other Republicans in Congress
4
It looks like Schiff means business. Our citizens demand to know if Trump is making decisions that affect U.S. security and foreign affairs based on his own personal financial gains. It is our right to know and Congress’s duty to do the oversight for transparency.
“Rep. Adam Schiff, the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, has hired Patrick Fallon, former chief of the FBI’s Financial Crimes Section, according to two sources familiar with the move.
It’s a significant hire that will bring expertise to the committee’s efforts to scrutinize President Donald Trump’s financial dealings. A committee source told The Daily Beast that Fallon started this week.
Schiff announced earlier this year that the committee will look at Trump’s finances to see if his personal interests are influencing his decisions as president. “That pertains to any credible allegations of leverage by the Russians or the Saudis or anyone else,” he said, according to CNN.”
https://www.thedailybeast.com/adam-schiff-hires-patrick-fallon-ex-chief-of-fbi-financial-crimes-section-to-probe-trumps-finances
56
I spent 30 years on Wall Street and I've learned that anyone who claims to be wealthy and who is comfortable that he came by such wealth honestly is more than happy to open his books and let people see that it's legitimate and honorably arrived at.
Not happening here.
Draw your own conclusions.
680
Could this be a case of “From Russia with Love via Deutsche Bank”????
56
Most transparent president ever? Hardly.
60
So whitewater was relevant for Clinton and DB is not for Trump? Hmm.
130
P.S. Oh, and don't send us redacted materials either!
38
In case Trump still believes he can lie with impunity, here is another example of why not. No one can trust you. If you want to play President, voters trusting you is a prerequisite
30
@Chad Brown
It is now known that he lied repeatedly during the campaign when he denied having any business in Russia. His supporters could claim they didn't know then, but they do now, thanks to evidence provided by Michael Cohen. Will they continue to support a proven liar?
20
@Rick
The Cult of Trump will go over the cliff with him.
Just like the members of the People's Temple in Guyana in 1978 who drank poisoned KoolAid on command (and about 900 died) the members of the Cult of Trump will do whatever their "Dear Leader" (or Fuehrer) tells them to do.
SAD. WEAK. (to quote a guy named Trump)
12
@Rick
Yes, good point: Trump lied repeatedly during his campaign rallies.
I still remember the biggest lie he told to all those people hoping for an improvement in their circumstances :
It was this : The very best, most excellent healthcare for EVERYONE, at the very best, reasonable cost.
Do those who voted for him remember that?
2
Huh, who would have guessed that the guy that spent years telling lies and demanding that innocent people be investigated and locked up for fictitious allegations of crimes does not want anyone looking into his record.
121
If he has nothing to hide, what is he afraid of?
54
Mr. Trump has been a shady character for many years before he became president. Every other president in the modern age has had the courage and decency to show his financial records to the Congress and the public. The American people have the right to this, especially since he has a history of lying at the drop of a hat. If he was capable of lying about a non-existent foot injury in order to get out of service to our country in time of war, he's certainly capable of cheating our government out of money that he should have paid in taxes, just as I and most other citizens have paid to our government for years.
He's proven that he's a liar; we deserve to know how big a liar he is.
Michael O'Shea
139
Trump defaulted on a loan in 2008, then sued Deutsche Bank, claiming they had caused the financial crisis... "Deutsche Bank responded by suing Mr. Trump, demanding that he immediately repay the portion of the loan, $40 million, that he had personally guaranteed. The litigation lasted into 2010. After the suit was settled, Deutsche Bank resumed lending to Mr. Trump, dispensing more than $300 million to him over the next several years."
Resumed lending to him? When I read the NYT article in May 2016 about how Trump drove his Atlantic City casinos into bankruptcy in the 90s, gutting the companies and robbing his investors while profiting along the way, I thought I had heard it all. But now this... he defaults on a $40 million loan, and then the bank loans him $300 mil?
Yes, we've got to know what is behind this...
287
@Branch Curry As a career banker I would agree. However, it appears as though the first loan was from DB and the second $300b arranged through the DB Private Banking unit. This suggests that perhaps it is not their money in the second situation, but their clients'. Given the money laundering known to have taken place at DB this absolutely requires Congress investigation.
89
My first guess would be a secret quid pro quo: you get the loan, we get a cooperating money launderer.
27
@Branch Curry
Indemnification from some non governmental individuals who speak russian.
14
New York real estate is a sleazy and morally defective business — massive write-offs, sweet tax deals, absurdly risky loans. It's all borderline illegal (and sometimes actually illegal) and it still rakes in the big bucks.
Everyone in this city knew Donald was the bottom-feeder at the bottom of the slimy tank that is New York city real estate. If anything good comes out of this presidency, maybe it will be that a bit of sunlight shines on this corrupt business.
74
My greatest dream would be that the Trumpet is exposed as the insolvent fraud he really seems to be. An honest person lays all the cards on the table when asked the first time. A lying gangster stalls for as long as the inquiries continue....
Why is the Trumpet so fearful of transparency? Too much to hide?
Let all the Trumpet's lenders lay down their cards....
Laughing all the way to my bank.....I, personally have nothing to hide....
36
The President got comfortable with both chambers of Congress in Republican control. Why he thought his past and present business dealings would never be scrutinized is just a reflection of his life up to now. The tangle webs he has and continues to weave will come undone. Maybe he'll try to declare his presidency bankrupt and start over. Perhaps the House will extend him a line of credit with an anvil tied to the end of it.
27
This article did not answer why Trump wants ti block Deutsche Bank from sharing his financial records.
16
@latweek
You're right. I hate those "c'mon" headlines.
1
@latweek
The best comment yet.
1
@latweek
Yes it did.
Trump's suit says he doesn't want people looking at his finances.
Deutsche Bank was recently heftily fined for Russian money laundering .They "loaned " the Trumps $340,000,000. Congress wants to see the records.
Can you connect the dots?
3
Like a demagogue casting aside all law and order.
12
Not only is the banks relationship with Trump questionable there’s is Deutsche Bank loans to Donald Trump of over $1 billion for his real-estate projects while Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy's son led a real-estate division there. There is much corruption to hide & Trump is notorious for using lawsuits and the courts to hide it. Wonder if it works while being president?
46
Yes this is important to the max. I think.
6
@John Chastain Yes, I'm looking forward to learning more about Anthony Kennedy's sudden retirement.
8
@John Chastain I'd Iike to see someone compare a list of the son's clients to a list of Supreme Court Appellants during Kennedy's term........
3
I’m tired of hearing about Trump’s getting angry. First, who really cares? If there is any reason for anger, it ought to be on the part of the American people for being represented by the sleaze Trump shows himself again and again to be. With him there seems to be no limit for corruption ... his being seemingly being shamelessly proud at that. A dodge, however. His day of accountability is coming very soon, and justice will have the last word. He knows it; he’s running scared. Contrary to the way he tries publicly to advertise himself, he is a weak man, lacking of inner strength. Presidents like this are obviously dangerous in every respect, here and throughout the world.
101
“The litigation lasted into 2010. After the suit was settled, Deutsche Bank resumed lending to Mr. Trump, dispensing more than $300 million to him over the next several years.”
The litigation lasted for over two years. Settled. And then Deutsche Bank happily resumes lending to Trump.
So I need to exaggerate my assets, obtain a loan, default, sue the bank, and then get another loan?
At first I wanted to commend Deutsche Bank for being forthcoming with Trumps records, but on the other hand, I’m scratching my head.
This is like a clown car pulling up to you at a circus. Clowns get out but you don’t know who to trust.
14
To the uninitiated, non-partisan and objective observer, even though Trump and company maintain and insist they are innocent and (everything is unjustified and unwarranted), Trump plays the role of victim and innocent bystander. Methinks that there would not be so many investigations unless there were many smoking guns and skeletons in just about every closet and there would not be so much resistance and defensiveness unless there was something to hide and much to be gained by keeping it under wraps. I keep thinking about Giuliani and Trump: "There is no collusion. But even if there is, it isn't a crime." They got it all figured out.
21
What could the greatest businessman in the history of business and men have to fear?
I thought he was proud of all his amazing accomplishments and that he never loses.
What could he possibly have to hide?
74
Follow the money.
5
Still, what's the official explanation and reason for the subpoena?
7
@areader
He could be compromised. Is he accepting bribes from foreign countries to start with? Having a history of bankruptcies, he could get desperate for funding. Like going to a payday lender. Not good on so many levels.
31
@areader
U.S. Constitution.
Congressional oversight of the Executive Branch.
35
@David,
Thanks. But I've asked what's the concrete official explanation and reason for this concrete subpoena?
1
Isn't it amazing how hard Trump and Family are fighting to resist transparency. I don't know about the rest of the readers out there, but I am being inundated with emails from the tea party, Newt, McConnel, etc. Things are heating up.
49
So much criminality to hide, so many subpoenas to resist compliance with, so many lies to tell in support of a totally meritless strategy. The First Family of Grifters now on full display. Who is paying for the Trump clan's legal representation in this lawsuit?
112
@John Grillo
Usually, when a case is settled, Mr. Trump doesn’t bother to pay his lawyers, Maybe he thinks they do it Pro Bono. Just as he has stiffed, in the past, sub-contractors and students of Trump University, he will probably stiff these lawyers in the end.
It’s his way - cheap and base.
41
@John Grillo - Maybe his campaign funds?
10
@MH
It's possible that Trump stiffs everyone not because he's so cheap - but because he has no money.
13
Each individual who is a candidate for federal office must file FEC FORM 2 (Statement of Candidacy) or, if not filing electronically, a letter containing the same information within 15 days of becoming a candidate.
I'm guessing Trump either did not file, filed late, or lied on that form.
Let's see his Form 2.
64
@Fourteen14: Not sure why this is important to you, but the form is publicly available:
http://docquery.fec.gov/cgi-bin/forms/P80001571/1091619/
2
@Lew
Further research indicates that it was apparently hand-delivered to the FEC 7 days after he declared his candidacy.
Since there's good chance it was backdated, I'd like to know exactly who delivered it, and exactly when they did so.
1
where is wikileaks when we need it? he
23
@local They and their owner the GRU are supporting Trump and the oligarchs who are indemnifying Deutsche Banc.
7
@local The Trump administration is trying to extradite him from the UK so they can make sure he never talks.
2
The simple explanation is Trump is not as wealthy as he would us to think and he is terrible at business. Oh yeah, and lies bigly.
43
@Hans Delbrook
I keep thinking nothing but iou's. Also, he seems to continue hiding behind the "audit" cloud. Supposedly, you can still release your returns even if you are under audit. And why has he apparently been under audit forever?
13
Oh I hope we eventually see his taxes.I think even his supporters would like a good look at those !! Maybe if he turns out to actually be as rich as he says he is...he could pay us back for all the Security needed for him when he plays the golf he claimed he wouldn't have time for! Mueller's testimony before Congress will be spell binding for sure !! Maybe Trump could reimburse us for the Mueller Investigation as well !! We just have to be patient....all in due time...all in due time !!
32
The elephant in the room is holding a sign that says IMPEACHMENT.
Congress, do your job that you took an oath to do: Defend the Constitution of this country.
Throw the grifter Trump and his corrupt family out of the White House before he steals us all blind and sells us to the Russians.
Trump is a dictator in the making. Stop him, now, before it's too late.
75
Trump knows the truism of, "Follow the money."
25
One can only imagine all the dirty laundered money flowing from Russia "with love" through Deutsche Bank to The Don.
27
I really, really, really, really, really want for these records to be obtained, studied and released to public if merited.
Follow the money. Insist on getting into those dealings.
THIS is what DJT is afraid of.
40
Why would anyone want to share ones financial records to the world?
2
@Jim
Probably no one would WANT to share financial records with the world. But Trump chose to run for President and, unfortunately, won. If he is required to supply his financial records, then he must do so.
30
@Jim They wouldn't. But that's not what this is about. Trump's financial records will not be made public, unless, of course, they ultimately become evidence in a criminal trial.
14
@Jim He should have considered that before running for office.
20
Has Trump sold out nuclear secrets to the Saudi's yet? Lets include this in our investigation of his personal financial corruption. Please.
23
The Constitution demands that the president release his personal, private, financial records. Oh wait. It doesn't. That's the Democratic Party.
3
@Bruce Hall. If he has done nothing wrong, why not show the world? Only criminals need to hide, isn’t that how it works?
20
@Bruce Hall
what is he hiding? I think if I were innocent, I would prove it to the american people. The republicans investigated the Clinton's and found nothing.
16
@BruceHall
Even Richard Nixon said “The people need to know that their President is not a crook.”
Not certain Trump would or ever could say the same thing.
7
The worst day in Trump's life will end up being the day he was elected president.
41
@Nancy Hutchinson
It is tougher nowadays not to be cynical but this entire thing is playing out like a reality show, like a Dynasty or a Dallas or whatever. I am surprised Trump has not had a nervous breakdown or gone totally to pieces but maybe he does not understand the gravity of the situation and the dire consequences awaiting him. And instead of it taking its toll on him, according to him he is holding up pretty well. He says he thinks he thinks he is a young, vibrant man, even though he is only a few years younger than Bernie and Biden and the oldest president ever to hold office, thus far.
4
@Nancy Hutchinson
It was probably also one of the worst for the country.
12
@Nancy Hutchinson - the worst day of everyone's life!
11
My sick and jaded view of politics almost inspire sympathy for Trump & family. But, he will fight the good fight and lose this one. DB must turn over subpoenaed documents. Why would they want to risk civil and criminal penalties for carrying the burdens of a borrower? And an unreliable one at that.
10
@Doc
Sympathy?, REALLY?!
8
Interesting "lady or the tiger" problem for Deutsche Bank and Trump, Inc.. The bank fears renewed investigation of their money laundering activities and the Trump clan fears that they'll be swept up in the muck like so much krill.
12
It is truly remarkable how Trump supporters wilflully ignore decades of evidence that Trump is and always has been a compulsive liar and a cheat, and has never displayed anything recognizable as a moral compass -- in business, marriage, or the Presidency.
The more he tries to hide his finances, the more certain we should be that Congress needs to investigate. The Dotard doth protest waaay too much, methinks.
65
@Rich
Yes. I know some of these loyal and determined and hard-headed Trump-ites and I work with many. Problem is, even if we distance ourselves from "Crooked H" or whatever Trump calls her, the Democrats will forever be the party of Hillary. Not sure if Trump believers are so anti-Hillary or gullible or naive or just do not care about the facts but many say that Trump is being unjustly vilified and railroaded and picked on but personally, this is just the way Trump would do it, being the bully that he is and rude too.
5
@Rich It's time to pull those Trump Steaks out of the freezer.
1
"Why Trump Wants to Block Deutsche Bank From Sharing His Financial Records"
I'll give you 3 guesses?
(Hint: tax evasion, money laundering, and fraud - for starters)
48
@Chicago Guy Because he doesn't have to do it, and he shouldn't do it.
@sob
sob
Obama didn't have to turn over his birth certificate, and he shouldn't have had to do it, but he did so that the obvious falsehood could be put to rest once and for all. Trump should do the same with his finances. An innocent person has nothing to hide.
3
When Donald Trump pays his lawyers with GOP Presidential Campaign Donations is that also a crime?
12
@JRR Yes
8
I'm not seeing any mention of Supreme Court Justice Kennedy's son, who approved these loans. I'm seeing no mention of the sudden retirement of Supreme Court Justice Kennedy, clearing the way for the ridiculous and compromised Kavanaugh.
These corrupt exchanges are taking place in full view, and yet are not mentioned. At the same time, the one candidate who is fearless at calling out the criminal Trump organization is being shunned, once again, on the pages of the New York Times. Shame on you.
28
Once again, I've found another who thinks Justice Kennedy's abrupt resignation and his son's tires to DB are totally connected. Gives me a slight breath of hope
3
This president and his administration will go down as the most corrupt and criminal one in American history. It's time for change in 2019 and 2020. Democrats need to take over the Senate and the House and the presidency. Otherwise our country will forever be changed and corrupt and criminal behavior in Washington DC will be the status quo.
32
What kind of bank would loan a grifter like Trump $20M, get "stiffed", and then loan him $300M -- even more money? I wouldn't deposit a dime in such an insane institution.
35
Philip K. Baker. I suspect there are more than a few bank officers at Deutche Bank wondering the same thing.
2
I believe that one day soon all the world will see what a complete, utter fraud and more importantly two-bit criminal we have as President.
He will get his legal comeuppance and rue the day he ever ran for public office.
62
@Futbolistaviva What is taking so long?
1
Why should a German bank pay attention to an American subpoena, unless they are part of a conspiracy to bring down a president?
1
@Aristotle Gluteus Maximus
They had to answer subpoenas for information on American citizens who were using special accounts to avoid taxes. Why not Trump?
11
@Aristotle Gluteus Maximus
Because they do business here. Lots and lots of business. Thus, they are subject to our laws. Yes, it really is that simple.
17
@Aristotle Gluteus Maximus Because the loans were made through their US subsidiary in NYC. That is where the legal jurisdiction of the loan would be in the event of a dispute or non-compliance. Trump didn't go to Frankfurt to sign the papers.
13
Test these hypotheses:
* Russia is controlling Trump with what it knows about his finances.
* Trump submitted false forms and affidavits to Deutsche Bank (bank fraud).
* Bad money went to Trump, via Deutsche Bank and other channels.
* The Trump organization needs the money he is making from the presidency.
* In other words, Trump is not so wealthy after all. (Could he even be underwater?)
* And the government forms Trump filed were all fraudulent.
* Including his tax returns.
* Is the troubling connection to Justice Kennedy's son (who authorized Trump loans) just the tip of the iceberg?
131
@Robert
and I have never heard of a casino going belly up but he was able to do it for at least two of his casinos in New Jersey. So perhaps he is underwater and if I held any of his bank notes, I would call them in demanding my money back!!!
19
Besides all the indications that Trump and family lied to Deutshe Bank to get loans,then lied about the loans they got, and then lied again to the American people about their shady dealings, do the MAGA hat people not see that using an overseas bank is yet another way this clan does not put the USA first in their dealings? Its just a bigger step up from Trump's hiring of illegal aliens to work at his businesses; he is more than willing to use overseas bank accounts rather than USA banks--to avoid taxes, to work around banking regulations, and probably to conceal money laundering. Total corruption.
44
Trump has been a NYC real estate wheeler and dealer his entire life. If he didn't become president, no one would have cared. But now that he is in a position to enact regulations and laws that directly benefit his brand, we the people get to see what he's up to.
Trump will regret the day he became president once investigators do what good investigators always do, "Follow the money." Trump Inc is going to come crashing down. Maybe not while he's still in office, but soon.
57
Trump does not understand the concept of the American presidency, nor the philosophy of the separation of powers so important to our Constitution. L'etat c'est moi is what he understands. Now he will throw himself on the mercy of "his Supreme Court". How low we have fallen. I cannot believe the leaders of the Republican Party are watching all this unfold passively. Lord have mercy.
37
Trump has a great deal of criminal conduct in his background.
Federal regulators have been asleep at the switch on enforcement for decades when it comes to corporations and the super-rich.
They need to make an example of Donald Trump and alter their future behavior when it comes to looking the other way in the face of gross criminal conduct of corporations and the super-rich.
Joe Biden is right. Trump's continued stonewalling will likely leave The House of Representatives no choice but to impeach Trump.
After the dust settles with impeachment, it is the Republicans, not the Democrats that will suffer at the polls. Whether Trump is ultimately removed from office or not, the impeachment process will poison the country against Trump and The Republican Party. There is just too much incriminating evidence against Trump for the country to pretend that he's innocent of any impeachable offenses. The Republican Party will be painted as collaborators to a criminal.
The 34 or more Republican Senators that would vote not to remove Trump from office will become forever infamously linked to Donald J Trump.
39
trump just keeps proving he has so much to hide. the guy likes to boast about how rich he is and that he has done nothing wrong, all is above board, but its all a secret. there is an old saying "something smells to high heaven" and its trumps lies, immoral behavior and lack of any ethics. one day we will find out about trumps money issues and most of us won't be surprised on how bad it really is or was.
21
The fault of de-fault, dear Donald, is not in others but in yourself. Let's pull back the curtain and see who this self-declared wizard truly is.
13
This is easy to explain. Like all financial institutions, Deutsche Bank deploys investor $ and seeks their best return. In turn, the bank earns fees on these investments. Some of Deutsche's $ comes from questionable sources including Russian oligarchs so indirectly or directly, Trump is held hostage by Russians. Given that Trump is such a poor risk due to his numerous bankruptcies, the terms and conditions of these loans will be onerous.
Were congress to get copies of these loans and the sources of these loans, Trump subservience to Russian oligarchs would be laid bare. The data would probably explain Trump's efforts to weaken sanctions on oligarchs.
Unfortunately, too many Americans refuse to accept the depravity and illegality infesting your white house but for those of us in Ukraine, we see it all too clearly.
If I could vote in the US, it would be for Warren because she's been after the banks for years and would do the best job to clean up the mess.
Wake up America.
35
Who, Trump included, wants their banking information all over the place and out there?
3
@MIKEinNYC Honest people would be proud to show their financials...... I would have no problem with any inquiry.
8
@MIKEinNYC
No one - especially if they're in hock to the Russian mob (aka Putin) and are being coerced to place the interests of their masters over that of the American People.
Trump appears to selfishly act solely in his own interests - but by doing so he's also perfectly aligned with Russian interests. What a brilliant con-man!
7
@MIKEinNYC - A credit check, background check etc. were part of the process for the job I hold and the office of President should have a much more stringent vetting process.
15
Trump loses either way. If the records are released I imagine he'll be shown to have been lying about his wealth and having taken significant loans from very shady foreigners to whom he still owes a great deal of money. If he succeeds in blocking their release, the next election will debate what Trump is hiding.
Smart move by the House Democrats, for a change!
18
Why is Deutsche Bank the only bank that was willing to do business with the Trump Organization? It lent money when no other bank would do so. The answer to that question is worth knowing. In case there are still people who don't know the man in the White House is a swindler, crook and possible money launder, it will remove all doubt, except of course to Republicans.
27
@S.L.
Deutsche Bank had a branch Eastern Europe that has been investigated and I believe forced to close by the EU due to its money laundering for Russian Oligarchs, many of whom had ties to Putin and many of whom wound up buying condos in Trump Towers and his other real estate projects, or selling property to Trump at a discount, such as a property in Florida purchased from an Oligarch. Connect the dots.
11
Because he's hiding something. That's why. Not hard to figure out. It's common Sense.
23
Should explain why they lent him millions of dollars after he defaulted on millions.
17
Clearly President Trump is motivated by modesty not to brag about his financial dealings by making them public. That is sooo like him.
17
@Paul Brown
very funny!
9
Cohen made some very detailed accusations of how Trump has lied on his loan documents. How else can they verify this testimony? Are people here suggesting we just look the other way? Are people here suggesting that some people are above the law?
It's their duty to see if Cohen's testimony is true. Does anyone doubt him? If so, then the investigation should be no problem.
93
@Stephen Kelly Ann Conway will have some Alternative Fact Explanation for all this that will put us all at ease!
6
@Stephen
It is not up to congress to verify Cohen's testimony.....
Schiff and Waters, two of the most partisan and radical of the opposition out to get Trump. Waters called on her soldiers to attack and harass members of this administration in the streets and at their homes. Who oversees and monitors out of control members of Congress in this system of checks and balances?
3
@Aristotle Gluteus Maximus if there had been even a little over sight done by the GOP Congress in the past two years when they were in charge, then maybe the Democrats might not be in the position they were put in. One might think its a little over kill on what the Democrats are doing now, but then one might think that what the Republicans failed to do might be considered MIA missing in action.
25
@Aristotle Gluteus Maximus...it should be the same people who oversaw the Kenneth Starr fishing expedition, don't you think? As to who oversees them, they oversee themselves, just like they'v been doing.
You don't like it? Fair is fair, genius. Starr went on for years, and found nothing actionable nor even close to actionable. The shoe is on the other foot now, and things will be coming to light. There's plenty to find.
Get your excuses ready. There's mansplaining ahead.
30
@Aristotle Gluteus Maximus Why stop it unless you are a criminal. I have no problem with this, the man is a grifter and thief that is out in the public purview for all to see. Trump must be forced to live within the rule of law or this country is finished no man or woman is above the law and that includes the President. Personally we need a Constitutional Amendment to outlaw all political parties.
17
Here is the heart of the matter: money laundering for Russians. This has always been Trump's greatest vulnerability. Not because it's the worst he's done -- betraying our country is the worst he's done. But because money laundering is the wrongdoing which is the best documented -- and therefore the most provable.
As the Times reports in a related article published today, Congress is now closing in with subpoenas "related to possible money laundering by people in Russia and Eastern Europe."
Trump is desperately resisting with litigation to quash the subpoenas. This litigation will fail and the subpoenas will be sustained; but Trump is hoping that, with appeals, he can use the litigation to generate delay beyond the 2020 election.
In terms of bringing Trump to justice, this really is the main story. It is helpful to remember that another famous American gangster, Al Capone, was in the end sent to jail not for all the murders he had committed but for tax evasion.
232
My guess is that Trump is trying to hide the fact that he is doing business with Russians. If so, he may be in violation of the emoluments clause of the Constitution.
46
This long-running farrago over Trump's tax returns and business with Deutsche Bank should prompt Congress to make it mandatory for all future presidential and vice-presidential candidates, cabinet nominees and federal judicial appointees to be totally transparent about their finances. They are, if anyone needs reminding, a matter of public interest and the public has the right to know. While Congress is demanding transparency from the judicial and executive branches, it should also demand it of its own members.
241
On March 19, 2019, the NYT wrote an expose of the Trump - Deutsche Bank toxic entanglements, entitled "A Mar-a-Lago Weekend and an Act of God: Trump’s History With Deutsche Bank".
In your expose, you clearly laid out all of the criminal activities that have been perpetrated between the Trump clan and that Bank's executives since the early 1990's.
You summarized the relationship by stating
"...their symbiotic bond born of necessity and ambition on both sides: a real estate mogul made toxic by polarizing rhetoric and a pattern of defaults, and a bank with intractable financial problems and a history of misconduct."
Your readers should go back to that article. It defines in great detail why the Trump family is pulling out all the stops to keep the US Congress from having the multitude of Trump's criminal transgressions be opened to public scrutiny.
398
@Joe Miksis
Thanks for the tip! I'll go check it out ;-)
3
@Joe Miksis
For those interested, a direct link to the article:
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/18/business/trump-deutsche-bank.html
10
Congress needs to be well prepared and still may not be up to the task. They are dealing with a well baked expert. Can you name somebody who went to bankruptcy court six times even if he didn't become President after that?
29
Headline does not deliver. Why does Trump not want his bank records released to Congress? The writer only repeats that he doesn't want to, and is angry.
9
@Alan
Would you want your personal financial information made public? Duh. As an aside, this information has nothing to do with proper Congressional oversight and most likely would not survive a legal challenge.
2
It is not being ‘made public’ - being requested by an oversight committee of congress.
17
@jcricket...you'll be hearing crickets, all right, when The Donald is forced to answer relevant questions. He doesn't have good answers; those would have been rendered long since. How obvious does it have to get? (I know the answer to that: Very.)
9
Donald Trump will do everything he can to keep his financial records from becoming public, and he is going to need to do everything he can to get reelected, because once he is a private citizen he will very likely be indicted for a number of criminal offenses beginning with obstruction of justice. We have no idea what the Southern District of New York has in store for him, but you can bet that we have not heard the end of that one.
While everybody seems focused on Donald Trump, very few have bothered to think that his family may actually be in legal jeopardy. This would include his son-in-law Jared Kushner... and when that house of cards begins to tumble , you will see an all out war declared by this president on just about anyone who opposes him .
This is yet another reason why this man must be removed from office by any legal means possible.
224
@RD - I'm waiting for the all out war between the family. Someday, Ivanka will realize that she could more than likely get her husband, brothers, and dad locked up and take over everything just by dropping some bread crumbs.
But the one to watch out for is Tiffany:))
16
Exactly so, and a desperate, cornered rat like Trump and his “ crime family” would do anything to gnaw their way out of their self-constructed trap—which translates as, Do anything to be re-elected, likely the only way to avoid facing jail-time. Given his chronic mendacity and deception, add the powers of the presidency and a rogue’s gallery of players who have subverted governments overseas with false-flag incidents to choose from, and the situation takes on new urgency.
11
@RD
What a choice: reelection and the White House - or prison.
6
All those hastily approved right wing judges, and especially the ones on SCOTUS, need to think long and hard about whether they want to cover for the career criminal family occupying the White House. The future of our country hangs in the balance.
587
Oh my, the reason they are stacked into the courts is because they’ve already thought long and hard. They are ready to roll.
26
@Jennifer
They took the oath of filiality remember.....
9
@Jennifer How do you think kavanaugh got there? Who offered a well-timed retirement to open up that seat? And guess where justice kennedy's son worked and whose loans he facilitated?
Their decisions have been made.
70
Note to trump's lawyers : Enough with the "private citizen " nonsense ! When you become the president , your not a privite citizen with private business interests !
754
@paul
That's right. The President is a paid employee of the American people and we have a right to know of his financial side interests, any of which could easily be incompatible with his employee duties.
50
@Paul
trump can't be indicted because he is President, but somehow thinks he is a private citizen. Perhaps Congress can indict trump now as a private citizen while he has his cloak of the Presidency down.
33
@Rebecca
Trump can be indicted. The myth that he can't is pure Presidential propaganda (shared by presidents of both parties).
18
As the bricks fall from the wall, so much of Trump's lifelong lawbreaking is revealed. From the White House to the big house.
162
@questionsauthority
Sure, just like his big crime,"collusion"? You were like 100% certain of that and may even now still believe it despite the fact that the Mueller report found no evidence of collusion.
Everyone is so certain and so wrong when it comes to Trump.
3
@AACNY
He didn't collude in the sense that he didn't actively work with them to get information, but he did accept whatever they offered. And, if you read the report, he did attempt multiple times to obstruct the investigation.
Why not hold Trump up to the same standards he demands in relation to Hillary Clinton ?
44
@AACNY,
no evidence beyond a reasonable doubt! There was plenty evidence.
12
A Jeopardy Question headline!
The Answer is: Why Trump Wants to Block Deutsche Bank From Sharing His Financial Records.
Things a crook does...
98
@cretino When he ran for President it was a publicity stunt and thanks to Russian help he got in. Putin has been rewarded. V had got caught up in his lies and over extended itself, and he probably owes them huge amounts. So help to get him kicked out and reap the rewards.
2
@cretino
Sues the bank that lent him money on the grounds they caused the financial crisis and engaged in predatory lending practices.
What is: Things a weasel does?
7
wrong: the correct answer is "what are things crooks do."
6
In the beginning of the financial crisis Trump found a way to legally not pay the German bank over 50 million. After that the same bank loaned him 200 million. The bank has been found guilty of laundering cash for the Russian mafia. The bank has strong ties to Putin. I guess we are to believe nothing illegal has transpired .......right!
195
Since President Trump promised to show us his tax returns months ago, this legal battle makes him look guilty of something criminal.
If he has nothing to hide, why is he hiding everything? I doubt it is out of embarrassment. Mr. Trump has shown himself to have no shame. Even Jeff Bezos was willing to fully expose himself to be rid of an extortionist. Why doesn’t Mr. Trump do the same? Show his financial records and prove this is a witch hunt.
124
We the people will hold POTUS accountable in 2020.
40
Trump has been money laundering a very long time: he has no place to go as forfeitures are going to close in upon him:
RICO RICO RICO
93
Trump and DB seem to be natural partners, in sordid and likely illegal dealings. A marriage made in heaven, or some such place.
23
@PT
That's right. They even had a fight, then kissed and made up. If you are willing to do that with Trump, then you deserve everything you have coming to you.
10
After all their shenanigans, wouldn't this be a suitable end for DB. A refusal to release documents followed by our spineless government actually doing something. Perhaps revoking their charter to operate in the US so that they and their favorite client can quietly circle the drain.
29
"I'm not a crook."
40
Isn't DB already turning over documents to the SDNY?
14
The documented history of Trump's finances is his Achilles bone spur, and he knows it.
131
Why didn’t the Special Counsel investigation look at Trump tax returns and banking documents? How could its findings on Russia not take that information into account? This all stinks to high heaven. Democrats are using the threat of impeachment to pass infrastructure bills? Impeach!
3
How are civil suits able to block criminal investigations?
Don't investigations into potential money laundering, bribery and bank fraud take precedent over banks keeping clients' info secret?
When will trump's supporters and enablers realize they, too, have been conned?
36
@John
No. A subpoena still has to be lawful.
I'm really surprised that Mueller never "followed the money"... It's almost as if he didn't want to find anything...
5
@Vicki Ralls There are 12 additional investigations ongoing from the Muller Report. They are following the money.
15
@Vicki Ralls in the words of the far-right Mueller acted like a bit of a "cuck" by not going the distance
4
@Vicki Ralls...he didn't, and he's an honest man (sort of). This presented a huge problem for him. He had to come out of it not looking completely dirty, and still not find too much. We'll see how history treats him.
2
These law suits by the Trump clan have an air of desperation to them. The whole Trump brand is a sham and they know the thing is about to be exposed for what it is, a massive pile of debt. Exposing the nature of his finances and debts is going to put a damper on his future ability to milk the debt markets for more vig.
He only has himself to blame for this scrutiny; if he had cleanly separated his business interests when he took office and wasn't such a constant prevaricator perhaps Congress would be less suspicious of Trump.
47
We know why Trump doesn't want his records disclosed. But why did Deutsche Bank keep lending him money?
68
@Christina Someone was buying something, or hiding something.....
10
@Christina Maybe because they were loaning Deranged Donald Russian money?
13
@Christina There’s something in it for them. Everything is about financial gain.
4
DT has done nothing wrong and sharing his records will prove it, once and for all. Mr. President, prove the haters wrong!
3
@David Trump If he can prove this, then why not let the bank release his records without fanfare?
He is the only modern president not to release tax returns. WHY not?
35
@David Trump
How do you know he has done nothing wrong when he has refused every request for information? Yet he has refused to do the very thing you and everyone else has ask of him.
If Trump wanted to clear himself, he would have cooperated long ago.
Please tell me why he will not do so. On top of this, he tells so many lies, even some that a so obvious. To what purpose?
26
@David Trump
We the people will be more than happy to be proven wrong, just show us your tax returns and financial records. I'm sure you have nothing to hide.
13
“And in all of my years of public life, I have never obstructed justice. And I think, too, that I could say that in my years of public life, that I welcome this kind of examination, because people have got to know whether or not their president is a crook. Well, I am not a crook. I have earned everything I have got."
13
What is Trump hiding?
Did he lie on his tax returns?
23
I don't think people in Germany and western Europe are all that fond of the Trump family crime syndicate these days. Deutsche Bank would get a lot of good will if they were to release the documents. It would be good for business.
35
Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy's son did business with Donald Trump at Deutsch Bank.
Nice that when all this comes to the Supreme Court, Kennedy will have delivered the goods to the president's side.
You gotta wonder why.
81
@B.Kennedy delivered. By retiring on demand and making room for Gorsuch.
11
@AK. Kavanaugh. But you're right.
5
@B.
Justice Kennedy was also Koch-brother schooled. Surprise, surprise.
5
After suing and countersuing each other, and a lot of name calling, they resumed their financial relationship. That sounds like an abusive marriage where bouts of violence erupt, and then the two warring parties calm down and decide to pick up where they left off. Why? Call it addiction, low self-esteem, co-dependency, or personality disorder. It gives politics and banking a black eye.
21
"Mr. Trump’s lawyers said the [congressional] subpoenas had no legitimate purpose ..."
What nerve!
9
I haven't read the story but I know why. Because the records will reveal the truth and document the lies he has spewed about his wealth and his illegal business activities and to who he is indebted.
22
It is still a mystery why DB kept lending Trump money after all he did.
13
@Tapani All well documented by NY Times in March. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/18/business/trump-deutsche-bank.html
3
Thank you Mr. Mueller for leaving the trail of breadcrumbs.
14
@JCAZ
I'd rather he gave us a loaf.
7
What is the section of the Constitution that gives Congress access to President Trump's business records? I forget again.
1
@Wilbur Clark
Probably because you didn't know it in the first place. Note that this is a President who has refused to separate himself (or his family) from the business while President. And has a very long history of unethical business behavior. And has consistently proven that he recognizes no such thing as conflict of interest.
32
@Wilbur Clark the same section that gave congress the authority to investigate Whitewater and the Rose Law Firm's billing practices and Hilary Clinton's commodities trading success. The same section that provides that there shall be 9 supreme court justices except when the 9th would be appointed by a democratic president. the sheer rank hypocrisy of this argument explains why it is being made by trump alone, not by any congressman or senator who wasn't in diapers in 1990.
14
@Wilbur Clark - It doesn't sound like you've ever had a good grasp of how our government works. Try doing a little reading, pay special attention to the explanation of the three branches of government and the section about checks and balances.
10
If Trump wanted to be treated as a private citizen, he should have remained a private citizen.
No one forced Trump to run for office. No one is forcing Trump to remain in office.
His choice. Our rules.
912
@ Robert Eller Precisely. But his campaign was always just a publicity stunt to increase his brand; trump never thought he would actually win. Boy, Elections do have consequences, don’t they?
54
@Robert Henry Eller Exactly. We are Trump's boss, not the other way around.
21
If they have nothing to hide, why are they always hiding behind a phalanx of lawyers and lawsuits?
69
I dislike Donald Trump. Trump is trying to end health care in the courts, and that could ruin, or even end my life. Trump's stand on climate change could potentially murder (not too strong a word) many people, including people I love.
That being said, if Adam Schiff and Maxine Waters (or any prosecutor) had wanted to investigate Trump's finances, they had decades to do it. They, however, didn't. They are indeed doing it now for, as Trump claims, political reasons--for good or ill.
5
@KTT - Decades? I know it feels like forever since Trump took office but it's only been two years.
50
@KTT
Prior to 2017, Trump was not the President. Therefore there was no reason for Congress to investigate his finances. Until the Democrats took control of the House, Republicans on the oversight committee(s) refused to look into his finances for possible conflicts of interest and violations of the emoluments clause in the constitution.
Schiff and Waters have a constitutional mandate to see that Federal office-holders put the People's interests above their own, a concept that Trump has never grasped. Investigate away!
83
@KTT They have oversite of the Executive Branch not the Trump Corporation, unless Trump never divested (Which of course he didn't). So they have only had a couple years, and the republicans did NOTHING (Like See not evil with closed eyes etc.). So actually have only had a short time, plus they waited for Mueller, probably a mistake.
14
Trump should complain that the American people knew he was dishonest when it came to obtaining money for himself or honoring his own bills but elected him anyway. He should say that they knew he couldn't get his hands on their money while president. . . .
6
If there was nothing to hide, he wouldn't care whether his records were made public or not.
128
@Rain I'm just an ordinary citizen (retired) and have done nothing wrong and have nothing to hide. But I certainly wouldn't want my financial records to be made public, not that anyone would be interested in them.
2
@hark
But Trump is NOT just an ordinary citizen. He is the President. And there is concern that he is compromised by his financial dealings, therefore Congress and the American people ARE interested in his records. You can't reasonably compare your situation to Trump's.
69
@hark
But the president president is not an ordinary person, see the difference? And Trump obviously has something (many things) to hide. I bet lots of it would make fascinating reading, especially the Russian stuff.
19
All American’s should have the same rights, including the President. This includes rights involving illegal search and seizure. If Congress can show just cause for the material sought then they should be able to obtain it. If on the other hand, a judge would not ordinarily grant a subpoena on similar circumstances then Congress should be prohibited from getting the documents. Congress should be held to similar standards of due process as law enforcement when it comes to its subpoena power for individuals.
3
@John It's not "just cause" - the legal standard is probable cause. With all due respect, anyone who doesn't discern probable cause to examine Trump's financial records for tax fraud, bank fraud, insurance fraud, wire fraud, money laundering, and violation of the emoluments clause hasn't been paying attention.
59
@John
congress has a constitutional obligation to provide oversight to the executive branch. this involves more that simply making sure no crimes have been committed. That's why they are explicitly given the power to demand documents, separate from the courts.
42
@John
The relationship between Congress and the president is not the same as that between the law and the average citizen. If you chosen someone to be president, you committed your trust in them. That trust should with transparency, they have to prove their trustworthiness by submitting to a degree of scrutiny.
11
BTW, most of DB's lending to Trump was from the Private Wealth division, not the commercial lending division. The later had already flagged Trump for possible ties to criminal activities and organizations.
117
Everyone I know understood that all Trump's deals were shady. How is it that no one pursued this stuff during the primaries and, more important, why did Americans turn a blind eye to the foul practices of the Trump family?
And even cheer because of that very foulness?
35
@B.
The media was asleep at the wheel and did not do their due diligence.
All of this was out there to be found. Instead the media focused, breathlessly, on every stupid tweet and harped on that nothing-burger of an e-mail 'scandal' of Hillary's to actually do their job.
65 million voters did not turn a blind eye, second highest in history and 3 million more than Orange.
It was a mere 77,000 across three states that elected this disaster.
Of course, it never should have even been close in the first place. And might not have been had the media played its vital role in society.
2
I want to know about the link among:
1. Justice Kennedy's hasty departure from SOCUTS so that Kavanaugh could be inserted.
2. Trump's dealings with Justice Kennedy's son (Justin), who was responsible for "loaning" Trump billions when no real bank would.
3. The Russian oligarchy connection with Deutsche Bank and Trump, which seems likely to be part of a money laundering operation in connection with Trump real estate.
1157
@Misplaced Modifier Dear MM - you got it buddy. This is the key, right here. Answers to these questions would signal: GAME OVER.
101
@Misplaced Modifier
mind boggling. never thought in my lifetime i would see this type of corrupt and criminal behavior in a US president and his administration. sad for our children and future generations. what happend to America?
175
@Rain:
From Gordon Gekko in "Wall Street": Greed, for lack of a better word, is good.
Of course, greed has always been around, but it (in alignment with other things like PINO's ego) gets worse and worse as years go by.
40
Regardless of what Congress finds, Trump will just say 'fake news' and Republicans will just go 'meh'. The only people, who can hold Trump accountable, are the voters in 2020.
218
@Dersh - Unless the House finds money laundering that ended up as campaign donations to some of those Republicans.....thinking also of the NRA here.....
15
@Dersh
Agree, but replace "voters" with the Electoral College, a horse of a different color.
4
@Dersh
The Congress and the Senate have a constitutional duty to hold Trump and his administration accountable for their corrupt and criminal behavior.
14
The IRS should never, ever, ever be politicized. Its collection function is fundamental to our government. Its integrity must be protected at all costs.
Remaining separate and apart from partisan politics is mandatory. Taxpayers need to know that the IRS will never be weaponized for political purposes and used against them.
Democrats are destroying everything in their paths to get at this president. They need to just stop.
6
@AACNY - Cute. Especially when you look at the ways Trump has threatened to use various portions of our government to go after anyone he has a personal vendetta with (which is more than half the country).
257
@AACNY. Hate to break it to you my friend, but the GOP has politicized the IRS for decades. I work at SSA and our budget cuts pale in comparison to the draconian cuts they suffered entirety for political reasons alone.
Sadly this is another potential case of a GOP supporter (please say if you're not) criticizing Democrats for following in Republican footsteps. Donors figured auditing would be reduced by huge staffing and budget cuts....at least until Trump's lopsided and donor friendly tax cuts. In addition, GOP congressmen have been after the IRS to go easy on the rich and to audit the poor increasingly.
However, in the spirit of fairness and equanimity, everyone should stop politicizing the government. But that ain't gonna happen as long as both parties feed at the trough of the 1%'s campaign cash and the well off want to disengage themselves from the welfare of their fellow citizens. In the meantime people who worked their whole lives will pay taxes on their meager social security payments while the well off whine about death taxes and insure we create a permanent upper class with as few obligations as possible to the people who compose the undeserving, aka, pretty much everyone else.
115
@AACNY It's not a weapon for all other candidates because they all release their taxes. Trump promised he would, but broke that promise too.
Congress has oversight role, otherwise we live in an autocracy.
Is that where you want to live?
143
Deutsche Bank is in no position to cherry pick what it will or won't provide Congress, especially after months of cooperation with the House committees, and further risk its already murky reputation with politicians, regulators and the public.
Delicious.
151
DB's ability to cherry-pick enhanced by attorney-client privilege, possibly extending to internal DB emails with their (money laundering) "Compliance" dept... DB can also enjoy "delay" by waiting til civil litigation filed by Trump to be resolved in the form of an enforceable court order.
@William Jakarta
Deutsche Bank isn't a law firm. There is no such thing as banker-client privilege in the United States.
1
In the meantime, New York Attorney General Letitia James has also filed subpoenas. Deutsche Bank has already begun complying with them.
In the past three years, Deutsche Bank has already been assessed $Billions in fines for things like rigging LIBOR and its involvement in Russian money laundering schemes as well as evidence resulting from the release of the Panama papers.
In the meantime, it has failed U.S. stress tests in 2015, 2016, and 2018, and according to a Reuter’s article today, may fail again in 2019.
My guess is they will comply with the subpoenas to help clean up their sullied reputation.
292
Trump seems to have a stunning lack of situational awareness. He claimed that DB were totally happy with him in past decades only to litigate against it later and vice versa. He frequently claims approval and vindication only to rail in fury when he realises that approval and vindication is far from what is being offered. The Mueller report is a trophy of an example.
To DB, embattled and embarrassed, Trump is but one client to whom it has no particular loyalty, and we all know what fealty Trump demands. The bank is probably embroiled too in the laundering of Russian money to the Trump organisation and individuals. For the sake of its own survival, it has to be transparent and to take its lumps. Senior bank officials will cooperate to avoid prosecution. Put this all together, and Trump’s Achilles heel begins to show.
This is where the Russian connection really exists, not in campaign collusion, but in activity before Trump, in his situational unawareness, decided for a run at the presidency. The Republicans don’t care about the fate of their figurehead; he’s simply an expedience to a cynical agenda to essentially stage a coup d’etat against America and impose a modernised feudalism in which the wealthy take all.
484
@Marcus Brant Trump's lawsuit or not, I would imagine DB wants to cleanup its reputation, which would be helped by cooperating with Congress in the investigation of one of their sleazier clients.
35
@Marcus Brant
well said.
17
@Marcus Brant
“...we all know what fealty Trump demands”. And we know what he returns if he no longer has use for you or is displeased. Therein lies the danger to the autocrat, assuming that you will always hold all the cards and that those you imposed upon do not have very long memories.
17
If Trump earned his wealth legitimately, how will his financial records make him look bad? Does he not see that attempting to hide his financial dealings is what makes him look shady? Unless, of course, his dealings really were unethical or criminal.
This is not an extraordinary request; the only reason Congress has to seek these records aggressively is that Trump is hiding them when other presidents or even presidential candidates have been forthcoming.
317
@C Wolfe Exactly. I think that he's also worth a lot less than he claims and/or his debts are far higher than his assets, and he doesn't want that known.
54
worth a lot less....YES!
12
@C Wolfe
And, if Trump still owned any casinos, the Vegas odds would be heavily on Trump having cheated on all his tax filings, bigly no less.
18
I hope that maximum legal sophistication, maximum resources and maximum pressure are now applied by Representatives Waters and Schiff and their House committees in order to obtain the entire cache of documents that Deutsche Bank clearly is poised to share. That the President and his company, along with his adult children, are seeking to block the transfer of this voluminous and wide-ranging set of records is disturbing, and telling. Congress's explicit Article 1 role of oversight is more than sufficient warrant for the subpoena to the banks, and even if it is a tough slog in the courts, "following the money" is in my view the most critical trajectory for getting at the monstrous malfeasance, self-dealing and criminal abrogations of duty of this President.
756
@BB
Hear, hear!
16
@BB
Amen!!
8
This isn't about how the information will affect their brand. This is about the American people getting to the truth regarding Trump's business practices. Past and present business practices.
401
Has anyone ever considered the source or value of a "compensating balance(s)" from Russia or other sources to support the Trump financial situation at DB? It's value to Trump and the obverse value to Russia, etc? Often, compensating balances have no paper trial to the beneficiary of the deposit.
28
Everyone knows trump’s real worth is whatever is in his pocket, that he is totally underwater with his businesses. I’ve seen this before, as long as there’s cash flow he can grab a little as it passes from one debtor to another.
359
@Paulie So many good ideas and businesses die in the lack of cash flow; so terrible to see such a dreadful leach survive on it.
15
@Paulie
It's just a huge shell game to him. Money moves in a circle.
He borrows from Deutsche Bank to pay Capital One. Then borrows from Capital One to pay Deutsche Bank back.
He just shuffles money around that isn't is.
That's my guess as to why he doesn't want people seeing his financials. He'll truly be exposed as the total fraud and con man he is.
3
To preserve their reputation, I love it. This stuff will get out.
Hopefully before we have “Great Leader Don”.
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@John Red Don, the Leader Supreme.
Sounds like a really good pizza, doesn't it?
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Trump committed bank fraud in his dealings with DB and other banks and everyone in the financial world knows it. He obtained credit over and over again while misrepresenting the value of his assets and the extent of his liabilities. At least on the liability side he had some basis because he always figures he owes nothing since he can simply put his companies in bankruptcy.
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@Vince
So that explains it. Trump has been accessing billions of dollars from Deutsche Bank for his and his family's personal enrichment and Deutsche Bank was agreeable to this because they are also laundering money for the Russians and other foreign governments and entities. This also might explain Trump's disdain and snubs to Germany's Angela Merkel - perhaps she was on to this and by diminishing her power he could remain unaccountable for the wrongdoing of Deutsche Bank and himself.
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@Vince
Seriously? Trump has committed about a dozen serious crimes according to his critics. And, yet, Mueller couldn't find "collusion", the one his critics were 100% certain he was guilty of.
I suspect that his critics are in for some additional rude awakenings.
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@AACNY You might want to seek additional sources of information beside the president's twits.
As the report pointed out, “collusion” has no legal definition and is not a federal crime. The investigation attempted to establish facts on 'criminal conspiracy', which is a legally defined act. In the end the report was unable to find proof of conspiracy.
So while the report states very clearly that it does not make a determination on “collusion”, the facts depict actual collusion by Trump’s campaign and agents of the Russian government.
The campaign was actively seeking 'to cultivate a relationship with the Russian government and willing to work with it to acquire damaging information about its political opponents.'
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