Robert Reich
6 hrs ·
Connect these dots:
1. Today's Washington Post reports that Jared Kushner's $285 million Deutsche Bank loan was approved just before Election Day -- when Kushner was playing a key role in the campaign of his father-in-law, Donald Trump.
2. At that time, Deutsche Bank was negotiating to settle charges from New York state regulators that it aided a Russian money-laundering scheme. The cases were settled in December and January.
3. Deutsche Bank is known for its connections with Russian oligarchs. The Guardian reports that Deutsche Bank paid $630 million in fines for failing to prevent $10 billion in Russian money laundering between 2012 and 2015.
4. Deutsche Bank is Trump’s biggest lender. The bank supplied funds to him when other banks balked at the risk. As of last year, Trump’s companies had about $364 million in outstanding debts to the bank.
Were Russian oligarchs channeling money to Trump and Kushner through Deutsche Bank?
What do you think?