Special counsel Robert Mueller is looking into President Donald Trump's finances, even though the president warned in July that he would consider such a probe to be a "violation."
Mueller submitted a subpoena to Deutsche Bank AG several weeks ago for information on the bank's relationship with Trump and his family, according to Bloomberg. The hope, according Democratic members of Congress, was to look into the $300 million that Trump owed the bank before he ran for president.
Trump developed a close financial relationship with Deutsche Bank AG after a series of financial bankruptcies in the 1990s made most Wall Street lenders hesitant to extend credit to the future president. In 2011, the bank gave him a $106 million loan to buy Doral, a Miami golf resort, and on a separate occasion the bank loaned him up to $170 million to buy the Old Post Office, where Trump opened a hotel.
While it is unclear why Mueller subpoenaed the bank's records or how this relates to the ongoing Russia probe, it is very likely that Trump would be upset about news of Mueller's decision. During an interview with The New York Times in July, Trump said that he would consider it a "violation" if Mueller decided to investigate his finances.
"Look, this is about Russia. So I think if he wants to go, my finances are extremely good, my company is an unbelievably successful company. And actually, when I do my filings, peoples say, 'Man.' People have no idea how successful this is. It’s a great company."
When the question was repeated and the president was asked if he would fire Mueller should he investigate his finances, Trump repeated, "I can’t, I can’t answer that question because I don’t think it’s going to happen."
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