The bank's dealings with Trump are a key issue in
The defendants deny any wrongdoing. They have sought to show that the bank felt delighted, not deceived, by Trump and courted his business.
“We are whale hunting,” then-bank managing director
At the time, the family was looking for a loan to buy the
Her division's revenue from Trump business shot up from about
The briefing document suggested “key asks” for Jain to make: “Obtain more deposits and investment management assets,” and “strategically discuss leveraging Mr. Trump’s personal and professional network within the real estate industry in NY” for the bank's benefit.
And how did it go?
“It was a very, very nice, productive lunch,” Vrablic recalled on the stand.
Behind the scenes, she told a colleague at the time in an email: “It went great. Donald was low key and demure. Unbelievable. The conversation was fantastic. Not sure he could do it again for a second meeting but hey … miracles can happen."
Adding that the two were planning to golf together that spring, she wrote: “I bet the real D shows up for that one.”
The next year, her direct boss went to lunch with Trump to thank him and “ask whether we can work on other opportunities with them,” according to a document for that meeting.
James maintains that Trump’s allegedly inflated financial statements were critical to netting his company the
Trump says the financial statements actually underestimated his wealth and that a disclaimer on them absolves him of liability for any problematic figures. Trump, the current front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination in 2024, claims that James, a Democrat, is trying to harm his prospects of returning to the
“There was no defaults, no ‘nothing,’” he wrote Wednesday on his Truth Social plaftorm, calling the case “rigged” and “victimless.”
Trump personally guaranteed the loans at issue — standard practice for lending by Deutsche Bank’s division that caters to rich individuals, Vrablic said. The deals came with conditions about Trump’s net worth and, sometimes, liquidity, and they often required annual submissions of his financial statements.
Other current and former Deutsche Bank executives have testified that while they expected the information to be accurate, they came up with their own numbers.
Documents show the bank sliced Trump's
The
Trump provided it, Vrablic said Wednesday.
Over the years, she and colleagues spoke enthusiastically among themselves about the potential for building on
She advocated within the bank for lending to
Eventually, though, the bank started saying no. In 2016, when
Vrablic testified Wednesday that the bank was wary of “the increased exposure, scrutiny” surrounding a potential president and concluded “that it was not appropriate to go up in exposure.”
Judge
The trial concerns remaining claims of conspiracy, insurance fraud and falsifying business records. James is seeking more than
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