Bloomberg News has been forced to admits bombshell report claiming Robert Mueller was going through Donald Trump’s bank records was wrong.
Bloomberg had reported that Mueller had demanded a Deutsche Bank hand over details of its lending to Trump and his family, adding that he’d ‘zeroed in’ on the president.
The report has since been changed to say the bank records ‘pertain to people affiliated’ with Trump.
The Wall Street Journal also issued a correction which read: ‘An earlier subheadline said a subpoena from special counsel Robert Mueller’s office requested data and documents about President Trump’s accounts. The subpoena concerns people or entities close to Mr. Trump.’
Bloomberg News has been forced to admits bombshell report claiming Robert Mueller was going through Donald Trump ‘s bank records was wrong. Pictured is Bloomberg CEO Michael Bloomberg
It’s the second high profile blunder in the press in a week after ABC News broke into its regular programming on Friday with a special report saying Trump had directed Gen. Mike Flynn to make contact with the Russians in 2016.
Unfortunately, that report was incorrect and the network had to suspend the reporter Brian Ross, for four weeks without pay.
President Donald Trump’s lawyer Jay Sekulow had denied that the First Family’s banking records had been subpoenaed, after Reuters reported thatGermany’s largest bank received a subpoena from Mueller several weeks ago to provide information on certain money and credit transactions.
White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders used his form of words to echo the denial.
Reuters’ source confirmed a report by German daily Handelsblatt published on Tuesday.
Deutsche Bank, which has loaned the Trump organization millions of dollars for real estate ventures, said it would not comment on any of its clients.
Sekulow, one of Trump’s personal lawyers, said Deutsche Bank has not received any subpoena for financial records relating to the president as part of Mueller’s probe.
Germany’s largest bank received a subpoena from special counsel Mueller several weeks ago, a source said. Trump’s personal lawyer denied his or his family’s banking records had been the subject of such an order
Giant lender: Deutsche, which is Germany’s largest bank with its headquarters in Frankfurt, the financial capital, has made loans to the Trump Organization of around $300 million
‘We have confirmed that the news reports that the Special Counsel had subpoenaed financial records relating to the president are false,’ Sekulow told Reuters in a statement. ‘No subpoena has been issued or received. We have confirmed this with the bank and other sources.’
The bank would not comment on his claim, or the report that it had received the subpoena.
At the daily press briefing Huckabee Sanders repeated his form of words, saying: ‘We confirmed that the news reports the special counsel had subpoenaed financial records related to the president are completely false.
‘No subpoena has been issued or received. We have confirmed this with the bank and other sources. I think this is another example of the media going too far and too fast and we don’t see it going in that direction.’
Deutsche has loaned entities associated with the Trump organization around $300 million.
Trump’s debt to Deutsche Bank includes a $170-million loan related to his luxury hotel in Washington, D.C.
Deutsche Bank rejected demands in June by U.S. House Democrats to provide details of Trump’s finances, citing privacy laws.
Mueller is investigating alleged Russian attempts to influence the 2016 U.S. presidential election and potential collusion by Trump aides.
Russia has denied meddling in the election and Trump has said there was no collusion.
The bank told CBS News: ‘Deutsche Bank takes its legal obligations seriously and remains committed to cooperating with authorized investigations into this matter.’
The New York Times has reported that bank regulators were reviewing hundreds of millions dollars worth of loans that Donald Trump’s businesses had with Deutsche Bank, Germany’s largest.
A U.S. official with knowledge of Mueller’s probe claimed a reason for the alleged subpoena was to find out whether Deutsche Bank may have sold some of Trump’s mortgage or other loans to Russian state development bank VEB or other Russian banks that now are under U.S. and European Union sanctions.
Holding such debt, particularly if some of it was or is coming due, could potentially give Russian banks some leverage over Trump, especially if they are state-owned, said a second U.S. official familiar with Russian intelligence methods.
Trump also has mortgages with the bank on his Trump National Doral Miami golf course (pictured) and has borrowed off Trump Tower Chicago
‘One obvious question is why Trump and those around him expressed interest in improving relations with Russia as a top foreign policy priority, and whether or not any personal considerations played any part in that,’ the second official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity.
A source close to Deutsche Bank said the bank had run checks on Trump’s financial dealings with Russia.
Regulators were analyzing whether the Trump Organization exposed the bank to risk due to bankruptcies in casino and hotel businesses, CBS reported.
Trump has more debt with Deutsche Bank than any other lender.
According to Bloomberg, he owes the bank about $300 million. The lion’s share, a $170-million loan, relates to the luxury hotel the Trump Organization opened in Washington, D.C. inside the refurbished Old Post Office building.
Trump also has mortgages with the bank on his Trump National Doral Miami golf course and has borrowed off Trump Tower Chicago.
Former Trump national security adviser Michael Flynn leaves federal court in Washington, Friday, Dec. 1, 2017. Flynn pleaded guilty Friday to making false statements to the FBI, the first Trump White House official to make a guilty plea so far in a wide-ranging investigation led by special counsel Robert Mueller
George Papadopoulos, a Trump campaign foreign policy adviser pleaded guilty to making false statements to FBI agents
Word of the alleged subpoena came just days after former White House national security adviser Michael Flynn pleaded guilty to lying to FBI investigators about his contacts with Russia’s ambassador to the U.S.
Mueller has also obtained a guilty plea from Trump campaign foreign policy advisor George Papadopoulos. Two other Trump figures, former campaign chair Paul Manafort and Rick Gates, have been arrested on money laundering charges.
Trump told the New York Times this past summer he would consider it a ‘violation’ if Mueller were to expand the probe beyond Russia.