Blumenthal Statement on Special Counsel's Subpoena of Deutsche Bank Records

[WASHINGTON, DC] – U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) released the statement below following reports that Special Counsel Mueller has issued subpoenas to Deutsche Bank in relation to President Trump’s financial records.

“President Trump’s foreign financial dealings are clearly within the purview of the Special Counsel’s inquiry. The first rule of an investigation like Special Counsel Mueller’s is: follow the money. Deutsche Bank isn’t just one of the Trump Organization’s largest lenders – for years, it was the lender of last resort after repeated defaults and bankruptcies. President Trump stills owes Deutsche Bank, which itself remains under criminal investigation for a multi-billion dollar Russian oligarch money-laundering scheme,” Blumenthal said. “As Special Counsel Mueller presses forward, and comes closer to the President’s own conduct in this case, it is increasingly urgent that the Senate Judiciary Committee move forward with legislation to protect his investigation from the threat of political interference.”

Blumenthal first raised concerns about President Trump’s relationship with Deutsche Bank more than a year ago following widespread reports – including an investigation by ABC News – into how President Trump’s financial interests in the Trump Organization would expose our government to unprecedented conflicts of interest. In November 2016, Blumenthal called on then-Attorney General Loretta Lynch to appoint a Special Counsel to oversee the Department of Justice’s investigation into Deutsche Bank’s role in the 2008 financial crisis and potential wrongdoing in a multi-billion-dollar offshore trading and money laundering scheme. The full text of Blumenthal’s letter is available here.