Thursday, December 07, 2017

Following the Money

It was only a matter of time before Special Prosecutor Robert Mueller got around to subpoenaing the personal financial records of THE TRUMP.  Undoubtedly he has been aided by inside information by others in the TRUMP WORLD already charged with crimes, including money laundering.  Deutsche Bank, Germany's largest bank, has turned over documents concerning certain money and credit transactions made by the rouge billionaire, and now El Presidente.  The bank has lent millions to the TRUMP ORGANIZATION, one of the few to extend credit after a string of TRUMP bankruptcies during the 1990s.

Investigators are apparently interested in confirming information that Deutsche Bank sold TRUMP'S loans to VEB or other Russian banks (Gazprom Bank, VTB Group, Sberbank) now under economic sanction by the United States.  Holding TRUMP debt coming due would give the Russian oligopolists leverage over TRUMP, especially if the banks in question are state controlled.  According to an official disclosure document issued in June, the TRUMP ORGANIZATION has debts of $130 million to Deutsche Bank Trust Company Americas, the US operating unit.  The debts in reality are probably much larger.

Rueters reports that Paul Manafort's client profile are among the documents handed over.  Manafort was TRUMP's campaign chairman; he nor his wife have accounts at Deutsche Bank.  In October Manafort pleaded guilty to charges that included conspiracy to launder money.   The inference that one can reasonably draw from these circumstances is that the TRUMP ORGANIZATION, a TRUMP family business represented by Manafort, engaged in transactions with prohibited Russian financial institutions in response to pressure from them on loan repayments.  (All capitals for TRUMP because he is YUGE)  At some point later in the investigation, perhaps after subpoenaing senior advisor Jared Kushner for his testimony, Mueller will have set the stage for requesting testimony under oath from THE DONALD himself. US PERSON's advice:  DUCK!