House Finance chairwoman subpoenaed nine banks for Trump financial records in money laundering probe

[babylonsister]

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2019/4/18/1851223/-House-Finance-Chairwoman-subpoenaed-nine-banks-for-Trump-financial-records-in-money-laundering-probe

House Finance chairwoman subpoenaed nine banks for Trump financial records in money laundering probe
Jen Hayden
Daily Kos Staff
Thursday April 18, 2019 · 9:29 AM EDT


House Financial Services Committee Chairwoman Maxine Waters isn’t waiting around for the Mueller report. She’s getting down to business—the shady business of Donald Trump’s financials and possible money laundering by individuals in Russia and Eastern Europe. While the world waits and debates the redacted, sanitized Barr report, House Democrats, led by Rep. Waters, have subpoenaed six U.S. banks and three foreign lenders. More from the Wall Street Journal:

The list includes U.S. giants JPMorgan Chase & Co., Citigroup Inc.,Morgan Stanley , Wells Fargo & Co. and Bank of America as well as Capital One Financial Corp. It also includes Deutsche Bank , Royal Bank of Canada and Toronto-Dominion Bank.

Investigators are especially keen to talk with Deutsche Bank, which the WSJ reports has been cooperating. That bank has loaned Trump-affiliated companies $2.5 billion since 1998. Waters noted how important it is to make sure U.S. financial institutions were not being used to help criminals launder money. From the New York Times:

“The potential use of the U.S. financial system for illicit purposes is a very serious concern,” Representative Maxine Waters, the chairwoman of the Financial Services Committee, said in a statement. She added that the panel was “exploring these matters, including as they may involve the president and his associates, as thoroughly as possible pursuant to its oversight authority, and will follow the facts wherever they may lead us.”

Of course, the Trump family and Trump Organization representatives seem quite nervous about these records seeing the light of day.

“This subpoena is an unprecedented abuse of power and simply the latest attempt by House Democrats to attack the president and our family for political gain,” Eric Trump said in a statement. He added that the subpoenas “set a horrible precedent for all taxpayers.”

Alan Garten, the Trump Organization’s lawyer, said the company was weighing its options for potentially blocking Deutsche Bank from complying with the subpoena.

Donald Trump could answer so many of these questions by simply releasing his tax returns, as every other president has done before him. Something he promised to do if elected, and three years later, he’s still hiding them under lock and key. Why? Congress has a duty to find out. House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard E. Neal has requested the returns from IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig, but Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, who ultimately oversees the IRS, appears to be running interference and has missed a deadline from Congress to turn the tax returns over, something that appears to be illegal and may put Mnuchin in legal jeopardy.

[Mc Mike]

1. One of tRump's spawn talking about 'unprecedented abuse of power'. Very amusing.