Deutsche Bank said Tuesday that it possesses tax returns tied to President Donald Trump — the latest development in the effort by House Democrats to obtain the president's financial information.
In a court filing related to subpoenas from two House committees, Deutsche Bank said it possessed tax returns — which may be related to Trump, his immediate family or their company, the Trump Organization — that it would have to hand over if it complied with the subpoenas.
It's unclear exactly who the tax returns that Deutsche Banks possesses belong to because the names of the individuals are redacted in the filing.
A federal judge ruled in May that Deutsche Bank and Capital One can hand over his financial documents in response to the congressional subpoenas. But Trump's attorneys are now fighting that ruling in the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
"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]," Deutsche Bank said in a letter to the Circuit Court.
"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 said.
The filing came in response to an order from a federal appeals court for Deutsche Bank and Capital One to inform the court if they were in possession of tax returns for Trump, his family or his companies.
Capital One said in a filing Tuesday that it had no such records.
In April, the Democrat-controlled House Intelligence and Financial Services committees issued subpoenas for financial records, including tax returns, belonging to Trump and his adult children Donald Trump, Jr., Ivanka Trump and Eric Trump, as part of their investigations into alleged foreign influence on U.S. elections.
The Trump family and several Trump properties then sued Deutsche Bank and Capital One to block them from turning over the financial documents sought by Congress, saying the subpoenas "have no legitimate or lawful purpose."
Deutsche Bank has lent Trump's real estate company millions of dollars over the years; Capital One is among the banks that houses Trump's personal accounts.
Last week, attorneys for the two banks refused to tell a federal judge on the 2nd Circuit whether they possess Trump's tax returns, due to their "contractual obligations" to banking clients. The judge responded that he wanted an answer from the banks.
Trump wrote a $35,000 check to his then-personal attorney Michael Cohen from his Capital One checking account in August 2017. The money was tied to the effort to pay off porn star Stormy Daniels, who alleged that she had an affair with Trump before he took office. Cohen submitted the check to Congress ahead of his testimony in March.
