FRANKFURT -- A lawyer for President Donald Trump is denying that special counsel Robert Mueller has subpoenaed records from Deutsche Bank relating to the president.
"We have confirmed that the news reports that the Special Counsel had subpoenaed financial records relating to the President are false," one of Trump's personal attorneys, Jay Sekulow, said in a statement. "No subpoena has been issued or received. We have confirmed this with the bank and other sources."
The statement was in response to a report from German newspaper Handelsblatt that Mueller had subpoenaed records from Deutsche Bank as part of his investigation into possible Russian involvement in the U.S. presidential election campaign. The report in Handelsblatt cites only "informed circles." Several other media outlets had similar reports, also citing anonymous sources familiar with the situation.
A bank spokesman said Tuesday that Deutsche Bank had no comment on the Handelsblatt report. The bank said additionally in a statement that "Deutsche Bank takes its legal obligations seriously and remains committed to co-operating with authorized investigation into this matter."
Handelsblatt said it was not clear whether the records demand sought information regarding Trump or on other members of his circle. It said the subpoena was received several weeks ago.
In an interview with The New York Times in July, Trump was asked if he'd consider it a "red line" if Mueller began investigating his finances.
"I would say yeah. I would say yes," Trump said.
Deutsche Bank has been one of the few major banks willing to regularly lend to Trump, who alienated large banks in New York with his past financial troubles. Over the years, the bank's cumulative loans to Trump added up to billions, and loans originally worth $300 million remain outstanding.
In May, five Democratic members of the House of Representatives sent a letter to Deutsche Bank CEO John Cryan asking the bank to turn in any records relating to Trump's accounts and any ties to Russia. The bank refused, saying it had to respect legal requirements to keep client data private.
Deutsche Bank in December agreed to a $7.2 billion settlement with the Justice Department over its dealings in mortgage-backed securities.
