Deutsche Bank Responds to Judge’s Order by Confirming It Has Tax Returns ‘Responsive to the Subpoenas’ – By Matt Clibanoff (Law and Crime) / Aug 27 2019
Following a filing on Tuesday, it’s been confirmed that Deutsche Bank has the tax returns of someone in the Trump family, though the redacted document didn’t name names. The letter to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit claimed that the bank only had the tax returns of one specific member of the Trump family.
Based on Deutsche Bank’s current knowledge and the results of the extensive searches that have already been conducted, the Bank has in its possession tax returns (in either draft or as-filed form) responsive to the Subpoenas for [redacted]. In addition, the Bank has such documents related to parties not named in the Subpoenas but who may constitute “immediate family” within the definition provided in the Subpoenas. The Bank does not believe it possesses tax returns responsive to the Subpoenas for individuals named in the Subpoenas other than those identified above.
The letter follows Friday’s court order to both Deutsche Bank and Capital One, stating that both must address Trump’s tax returns via letter. Attorneys for the two banks cited “contractual obligations” in their argument with the Second Circuit over the returns. The banks lost that argument, however, and were asked to respond to the issue via letter within 48 hours. Capital One said Tuesday that it didn’t have tax returns responsive to the subpoena.
Democrats have suggested that some of the loans Deutsche and Capital One gave Trump could have been used in some sort of Russian money-laundering scheme.
Since the letter’s release, legal experts and reporters have taken to Twitter to suggest that the redacted name clearly belongs to the president, since the judge ordered Deutsche Bank to address that.
When court says “You must tell us if you have tax returns of Trump” and bank says “Yes we do have tax returns of REDACTED” – well, the math isn’t tough… https://t.co/TNZuqWTZ6f
— Elie Honig (@eliehonig) August 27, 2019
So @DeutscheBank just informed court that it has at least some of @realDonaldTrump tax returns. My understanding from sources inside the bank is that the bank has at least the first few pages of several years worth of the returns. pic.twitter.com/LEtXAyxlxD
— David Enrich (@davidenrich) August 27, 2019
This letter appears to give credence to details in a New York Times April report, which claimed that Deutsche Bank had “multiple pages from each of Mr. Trump’s annual federal tax returns.”
