Report: NY State Officials Opening New Investigation into Trump
The New York attorney general’s office reportedly issued subpoenas to Deutsche Bank and Investors Banks late Monday night related to financing for Trump Organization projects and an unsuccessful bid to purchase the Buffalo Bills in 2014.
According to The New York Times, someone familiar with the subpoena issued by Democratic Attorney General Letitia James’ office told the paper it seeks loan applications, mortgages and lines of credit concerning Trump International Hotel in Washington, the Trump National Doral near Miami and the Trump International Hotel and Tower in Chicago from Deutsche Bank.
The AG’s office has also requested personal financial records that then-businessman Donald Trump gave to Deutsche Bank in 2014 regarding a bid to buy the Bills.
“Mr. Trump worked with a small United States-based unit of Deutsche Bank that serves ultra-wealthy people,” The Times reported.
“The unit lent Mr. Trump more than $100 million in 2012 to pay for the Doral golf resort and $170 million in 2015 to transform the Old Post Office Building in Washington into a luxury hotel.”
A Deutsche Bank spokeswoman confirmed it had received a subpoena from the AG’s office.
The attorney general also reportedly sought records from New Jersey-based Investors Bank related to the Trump Park Avenue, a residential building located in MidTown Manhattan.
Investors Bank did not respond to a request for comment from The Times.
James made investigating President Donald Trump a central issue of her campaign for attorney general.
“The president of the United States has to worry about three things: Mueller, Cohen, and Tish James,” she told Yahoo News last August.
In her victory speech on election night in November, James said, “I will be shining a bright light into every dark corner of his real estate dealings, and every dealing, demanding truthfulness at every turn.”
In December before taking office, the attorney general-elect told NBC News, “We will use every area of the law to investigate President Trump and his business transactions and that of his family as well.”
Areas of inquiry she mentioned included any potential illegalities concerning his real estate holdings in New York, whether he is in violation of the emoluments clause of the U.S. Constitution through his New York businesses.
James also planned to continue the state’s litigation against the Trump Foundation begun by her predecessors.
The civil lawsuit seeks $2.8 billion in restitution and penalties.
Further, the AG told NBC News at the time she was “enlisting help from some prosecutorial heavy hitters, like former U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch, as a part of her transition to help her identify important hires for her office with an eye on bringing in experts for its Trump-related investigations.”
Additionally, James campaigned on passing a bill to change the Empire State’s double jeopardy law, so her office can potentially pursue state charges against anyone Trump may pardon for breaking federal laws.
The president tweeted about James in December, writing, she has a “GET TRUMP agenda” and “does little else but rant, rave & politic against me.”
….In any event, it goes on and on & the new AG, who is now being replaced by yet another AG (who openly campaigned on a GET TRUMP agenda), does little else but rant, rave & politic against me. Will never be treated fairly by these people – a total double standard of “justice.”
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 19, 2018
“Will never be treated fairly by these people – a total double standard of ‘justice,'” he concluded.
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