Trump Panicked; U.S. Federal Attorney Makes Jared Kushner Subpoena Announcement

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For all of the energy that members of the Trump Administration expend towards making themselves out to be the champions of the so-called “forgotten” people of the United States, they sure are embroiled in lots of scandals.

Now, federal prosecutors in New York have been reported by The New York Times to have subpoenaed records from Deutsche Bank related to the Kushner family business. Jared Kushner, of course, is the president’s son-in-law and an (unpaid) adviser in Trump’s White House.

GettyImages-8879893382 Trump Panicked; U.S. Federal Attorney Makes Jared Kushner Subpoena Announcement Corruption Donald Trump Politics Top Stories
WASHINGTON, DC – DECEMBER 7: (L to R) U.S. President Donald Trump talks with White House Senior Advisor to the President Jared Kushner as they attend a Hanukkah Reception in the East Room of the White House, December 7, 2017 in Washington, DC. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

Details of the case are sketchy, and the subpoena does not seem to be connected to Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s ongoing probe of the Trump team. The Russia scandal has ensnared Kushner, with him having carried out numerous suspicious communications with Russian government connected interests throughout his father-in-law’s rise to power.

On the private business front, Kushner was formerly the head of his family business, but he stepped down from that position upon taking a position in his father-in-law’s White House. However, he does retain a financial stake in his family business, which is similar to the setup employed by his father-in-law. Trump — breaking with protocol — retained a financial stake in his businesses upon taking office, simply handing off executive control of his businesses to his two adult sons.

As for the question of how directly whatever is going on here involves Jared Kushner, The Times reports as follows:

‘The family businesses include many legal entities. It is not clear which records were sought by prosecutors, what they are seeking to learn from them or to what degree, if any, they directly involve Mr. Kushner.’

The United States attorney’s office in the Eastern District of New York has been carrying out an investigation into the Kushner family businesses’ utilization of a program granting “visas to overseas investors in exchange for $500,000 investments in real estate projects,” in the description of The Times. However, the bank in question does not seem to have been involved in the Kushner family company’s usage of that program, meaning that this is apparently another issue.

Deutsche Bank has been in the news recently for other reasons, having been used by Paul Manafort as a part of his money laundering scheme and having been reportedly served with subpoenas by Special Counsel Mueller’s office in connection to that.

Manafort is one of four total former Trump associates to face charges connected to the Russia scandal, a fate that Kushner has — so far at least — successfully avoided.

The most recent Trump associate to fall to Mueller’s investigation is former presidential national security adviser Michael Flynn, who — no doubt much to the chagrin of those in the president’s inner circle — revealed that he had decided to plead guilty to one charge and cooperate with Mueller going forward.

There have been disputed reports of the bank being served with subpoenas for records related to Trump family transactions as a part of the Russia probe. Trump, of course, maintains that there is nothing to the Russia scandal, even though four of his former associates have now faced charges.

Featured Image via Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg via Getty Images