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By Leigh Ann Caldwell and Alex Moe
WASHINGTON – A key congressional committee has already had access to President Donald Trump's relationship with two major financial institutions, NBC News told two sources close to the House's investigation, while a court has vowed to open the door to even more documents. .
Wells Fargo and TD Bank are two of the nine institutions that have so far complied with subpoenas issued by the Financial Services Committee of the House of Representatives, demanding information about their relationship with the organization. Trump, according to sources. The information provided by these two banks has not been reported before. TD Bank and Wells Fargo declined to comment on this story.
Wells Fargo provided the committee with a few thousand documents and TD Bank gave a handful, according to a source that saw them. The committee, led by Representative Maxine Waters, D-Calif., Is particularly interested in the president's trade relations with Russia and other foreign entities.
Appearing on Wednesday on MSNBC's "Hardball", Mr. Waters said "we have no information to share with you at the moment about what we learned from the documents".
A federal judge ruled Wednesday that two other banks – Deutsche Bank and Capital One – could submit financial documents relating to their relationship with Trump and its activities in Congress. The Trump family had taken legal action to prevent these two banks from complying with the Congressional summons, and the decision paves the way for the committee to now have access to years of financial records of at least four years. financial institutions.
The documents provided to date are only a fraction of those requested by Waters, whose committee also sent subpoenas to Citigroup, Morgan Stanley, Royal Bank of Canada, the Bank Toronto-Dominion and JP Morgan Chase. Royal Bank of Canada is complying with the subpoena, according to a source. Other banks have exceeded the May 6 deadline for subpoenas.
The development comes as House Democrats discuss internally the desirability of opening a dismissal investigation of the president or not.
The first lender of the Trump Organization, Deutsche Bank has financed over $ 2 billion in loans to the President over the course of his career. He still owes the bank at least $ 130 million, according to Trump's latest financial information.
The subpoenas, the details of which have not been made public, are based on the idea that Congress has access to information under the Bank Secrecy Act, which allows Congress to provide information. access financial information to search for money laundering, according to a person who saw them.
"The potential use of the US financial system for illicit purposes is a very serious concern," Waters said in April, when she issued the subpoenas. "The Financial Services Committee considers these matters, including to the extent that they can involve the President and his associates, as closely as possible, in accordance with his supervisory authority, and will follow the facts wherever they lead us.
Patrick McHenry, QC, Senior Committee Member, did not respond to requests for comments.
The Waters probe is just one of many clashes between Democrats in the House and the President about his financial information.
The receipt of documents suggests progress for House Democrats who have often been frustrated in their efforts to, in some cases, exercise control but have made progress in recent days. US District Judge Amit Mehta said this week that Congress had the legal authority to request information from the president's personal accounting firm, Mazars USA.
According to an analysis by NBC News, at least 14 House committees run by Democrats study various aspects of Trump and his presidency, and 50 different investigations are looking for documents from the executive branch or external entities.
House Democrats have focused their efforts on the efforts of many committees to gain access to an unvalidated version of the Mueller report, which the Justice Department recently ruled to block after Trump claimed the privilege of being able to make a claim. ;executive.
Although lawmakers are struggling to obtain additional documents that could be essential to a case of obstructing justice against the president or members of his administration, access to bank records could give new impetus an inquiry focused on whether foreign individuals or governments have leverage over the president, his family or his businesses.
Mike Memoli contributed.
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