The German business newspaper Handelsblatt appears to have been the first to report that special counsel Robert Mueller had subpoenaed records from Deutsche Bank related to Donald Trump’s frequent, and large, dealings with the bank. Reuters broke the story on Tuesday morning. ABC News was close behind, citing their own source. Bloomberg also reported the story, citing “a person briefed on the matter,” and the Wall Street Journal followed soon after, making a similar citation.
But shortly before the afternoon press conference, Trump attorney Jay Sekulow stated that there was no subpoena.
“We have confirmed that the news reports that the Special Counsel had subpoenaed financial records relating to the president are false,” Sekulow told Reuters in a statement. “No subpoena has been issued or received. We have confirmed this with the bank and other sources.”
Sarah Huckabee Sanders returned to this statement multiple times during the White House press conference, saying that the press had gotten ahead of itself, or moved too quickly, or simply made false reports. Fox News backed them up, but the only source that Fox provided was Sekulow. Additional denials were made by Trump attorney (and guest Twitterer) John Dowd.
Bloomberg followed up with Handelsblatt ...
When approached about the Dowd comment, the person familiar with the matter reiterated that the bank had received a subpoena. Handelsblatt reported the subpoena earlier Tuesday.
The Wall Street Journal added details, indicating that the subpoena had been issued “in the fall” and reporting the denial by Trump’s legal team, while continuing to report the possible results.
It’s clear that the people on Team Trump don’t like the idea of Mueller diving into the oddly chummy relationship between Trump and a bank he not only burned for millions, but sued before reaching an undisclosed settlement.
Michael Caputo, a former Trump campaign adviser, said in an interview that the Deutsche Bank subpoena suggests the special counsel investigation is now veering into a probe of Mr. Trump’s private business dealings. Referring to Mr. Mueller, he said, “If he goes into the Trump Organization financial records, that’s a clear indication that it (the investigation) has gone amok.”
Deutsche Bank was the lender behind Trump’s Washington, D.C. hotel, as well as Trump Tower in Chicago. Democrats in Congress previously attempted to get records from the bank, but couldn’t get past privacy laws. However, that wouldn’t be a barrier to Mueller.
If Mueller has subpoenaed Deutsche Bank, why would Trump’s legal team be so quick to claim it never happened? The easiest answer is probably the one that was showcased today: If you say something never happened, you don’t have to answer questions about it.
And, of course, you can blame the fake news.