Deutsche Bank Says It Has Tax Returns for 2 Trump Family Members – The New York Times

Deutsche Bank told a federal appeals court on Friday that it had the tax returns of two members of the Trump family, but did not disclose their identities.

The German bank — long President Trump’s primary lender — is caught in a legal battle between Mr. Trump and congressional Democrats, who have issued subpoenas for financial documents connected to the president, his family and his businesses.

Last month, appeals court judges asked Deutsche Bank and Capital One Bank if they had copies of tax returns that would be covered by the subpoenas, which name Mr. Trump and his three oldest children — Donald Jr., Ivanka and Eric — as well as Mr. Trump’s company.

Capital One told the court that it did not have copies of any tax returns covered by the subpoena. Deutsche Bank said it did, but the names associated with those returns were redacted from the public version of the letter.

News organizations, including The New York Times, then asked the court to unseal Deutsche Bank’s letter, and in laying out its opposition to that request, the bank disclosed that the tax returns belonged to two individuals.

“The bank has in its possession tax returns (in either draft or as-filed form) responsive to the subpoenas for two individuals, not entities, named in the subpoenas,” lawyers for Deutsche Bank told the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in a filing on Friday. Lawyers for Mr. Trump also opposed the request.

The bank told the court that it was contractually obligated to preserve the confidentiality of one of those people, but that a review of contracts for the second person did not reveal any confidentiality clauses.

Deutsche Bank asked the court to provide it time to inform its clients if the court decides to unseal the letter.

The documents held by Deutsche Bank most likely contains details of how Mr. Trump made his money, who his partners have been, the terms of his extensive borrowings and other transactions.

Mr. Trump’s lawyers have fought to block the subpoenas, which were issued in April by the House Intelligence and Financial Services Committees, saying they have no legitimate legislative purpose.

The Financial Services Committee says it wants to know whether Mr. Trump helped Russians and other foreign buyers launder money through his properties, and the Intelligence Committee says it is trying to determine whether Mr. Trump’s financial dealings made him subject to foreign influence.