In a reminder that Special Prosecutor Robert Muller is not the only one investigating Donald Trump and members of his family, the Brooklyn, New York U.S. Attorney’s Office has issued a subpoena to Deutsche Bank for records concerning the businesses of the president’ son-in-law and adviser Jared Kushner and his family, reports the New York Times.
It was revealed this past August that the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, based in Brooklyn, was investigating Kushner Companies, a real estate development business owned by Kushner and his family, regarding how it has used an immigration visa program known as EB-5.
It was in August that the U.S. Attorney subpoenaed Kushner Companies concerning a pair of luxury apartment towers in Jersey City, N.J., financed in part by the EB-5 program, which puts anyone who invests $500,000 or more on a fast-track for U.S. citizenship.
It is unclear if the latest subpoena has to do with the EB-5 program or other matters. There is no evidence it is related to Mueller’s probe, although at least two of the attorneys working on his team previously were based in the Brooklyn U.S. Attorney’s office.
However, what is known is that the way Mueller works is to find ways to indict and convict those around his key subject – in this case, Trump – as a prelude to “flipping them” to become witnesses, as he allegedly did with former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn.
Deutsche Bank, the largest bank in Germany, is known to have invested in a number of different Kushner Companies properties, just as it has worked closely with Trump on many of his properties, including the converted U.S. Post Office in Washington, D.C. that is now a Trump hotel.
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Among things Kushner does with Deutsche Bank is a $285 million mortgage it got earlier this year to refinance a loan to purchase retail space in the former New York Times building in Manhattan.
Kushner and his mother also have a line of credit from the German bank worth between $5 million and $25 million.
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Kushner’s project in New Jersey, known as One Journal Square, became a hot topic this past May when Kushner’s sister mentioned the visa program in her pitch to Chinese investors.
The family company apologized, saying it did not mean to leverage Kushner’s position in the government as a way to lure investors.
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Kushner resigned as CEO of the family companies and sold part of his equity stake after accepting a position in the White House last January.
In response to the Brooklyn feds probe, Kushner Companies has denied any wrongdoing. Asked to comment on the latest subpoena sent to the bank, Kushner Companies spokesperson said they have no knowledge of it which is quite possible. The U.S. Attorney has no obligation to notify them of what it is doing in an investigation.
There was a report that Deutsche Bank was also sent a subpoena for records related to Trump, but his lawyers and spokesman have said since that they have been assured that is not the case.
Deutsche Bank did respond to subpoenas from Mueller related to Paul Manfort, Trump’s former campaign manager, who the Special Counsel indicted on money laundering and other charges earlier this year.
All of this may be related, or not. However, it is further evidence that Mueller, the U.S. Attorneys in New York, the District Attorney in New York and two Congressional committees continue their investigations.
