President Donald Trump’s son Eric Trump has accused Democrat lawmakers of abusing power after they issued a subpoena to obtain financial records of President Trump and his company from Deutsche Bank, which has reportedly done business with Trump for more than two decades.
“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,” he said in a statement, also saying the actions “set a horrible precedent for all taxpayers.”
“The potential use of the U.S. financial system for illicit purposes is a very serious concern,” Waters said in a statement, adding her committee is “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.”
Schiff characterized the Deutsche Bank subpoena as “friendly.”
Alan Garten, the lawyer for the Trump Organization, said the company is considering whether to block Deutsche Bank from complying with the subpoena.
The bank said through a spokesperson that it “is engaged in a productive dialogue with the House Financial Services and Intelligence Committees.”
Probing Trump
After taking control of the House of Representatives in January, Democrats have vowed to use their oversight powers to investigate the president, including the dealings of his sprawling real estate empire.A 2018 financial disclosure form showed liabilities for Trump of at least $130 million to Deutsche Bank Trust Company Americas, a unit of the German bank. They are for properties including the Trump International Hotel in a former post office in Washington.
Deutsche Bank said in January, shortly after Democrats took control of the House following the November 2018 elections, that it had received an inquiry from the two committees about its ties to the Republican president.
Schiff said Deutsche Bank had been cooperative. “We look forward to their continued cooperation and compliance,” he said.
In a separate inquiry, Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.), chair of the House Oversight and Reform Committee, said on April 12 that he plans to subpoena Trump’s accounting firm, Mazars USA, for his financial records.
“This is a disgraceful act of partisanship and a broken promise about fairness at the Committee,” he said.
“When you can’t legislate, harass,” he said. “This nonsense is the exact reason why the American people have such disdain for politicians and the exact reason that my father was elected President. Congress—people are sick of your incompetence.”