Trump’s unusual conflict: Millions in debts to German bank now facing federal fines

[ScienceRocks]

Trump’s unusual conflict: Millions in debts to German bank now facing federal fines
Trump's tax issues are hogging the headlines, but his conflict of interest issues are just as bad. Are we expecting Trump not to use every means at his disposal to try to profit from a position where he is on both sides of the fence as a the chief regulator dealing with the bank as well as a debtor beholden to the bank?

Trump’s unusual conflict: Millions in debts to German bank now facing federal fines

Donald Trump’s business empire owes hundreds of millions of dollars to a giant German bank cast into crisis by settlement negotiations with the Justice Department, a relationship some lawyers say sheds light on the massive financial entanglements he could face as president.

Federal regulators are seeking a $14 billion fine from Deutsche Bank, Trump’s top lender, to settle claims that the bank issued toxic mortgages amid the housing crisis. German media have suggested the bank has sought a state bailout that could lead to partial ownership of the bank by the German government.

A settlement could be reached before a new president takes office, but government-ethics experts say the Deutsche Bank situation is a stark reminder of how Trump could face a conflicting set of interests as the nation's negotiator in chief.

As head of the executive branch, he’d oversee the Justice Department and the United States' relations with the rest of the world. But he’d still have a lengthy series of financial relationships with private institutions and countries with business before the United States.

The guy only cares about his self and would use this country as his personal banker.

 

[tyroneweaver]

So you start a thread and rag on hillary.
Quite a change for you Matthew.

 

[Disir]

The meeting with Donald Trump's emissary was discreet, the location carefully chosen -- it was supposed to seem informal. Ultimately, an unremarkable café in Washington D.C. was picked. And in April, Markus Ederer, state secretary in Germany's Foreign Ministry, met there with Trump advisor Sam Clovis. Ederer was tasked with finding answers to a central question. What would a Trump victory mean for German-American relations? And how serious is the Republican candidate with his foreign policy blustering?


...Relationships in Jeopardy?

Central to the attempts to learn more about Trump's true plans is the fear that, for the first time since World War II, an American president might terminate the trans-Atlantic alliance. Trump has described NATO as "obsolete" and announced that he would at the very least seek to renegotiate its framework. Countries like Germany, Trump has said, have to pay more of the costs for their own security in the future. Otherwise, the US would withdraw its troops.


In his talks with German officials, Clovis has attempted to assuage the Germans' concerns. His message: Things aren't nearly that dire. He claims that Trump is a businessman, who always negotiates everything. That's more or less what Wittig's reports to Berlin argue as well. This spring, Wittig met with Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner. Kushner took diligent notes during the discussion, but couldn't contribute anything revelatory about how Trump really ticks.

Jürgen Hardt, the trans-Atlantic coordinator for the German government, believes that "even a President Trump would not carelessly jeopardize solid relationships if he is elected." Berlin officials believe that Trump would back away from some of his most outrageous demands if he were elected. But they do think that he would focus on the question as to who should carry the future costs of the trans-Atlantic alliance. A Republican victory in the election could be expensive for Germany.

The same could be true for German business, according to an internal analysis by the Finance Ministry in Berlin. The report argues that a Trump victory would mean "a shrinking gross domestic product, fewer jobs and higher unemployment" -- developments which would negatively impact German exporters. Trump's economic ideas, furthermore, "aren't feasible," violate international or US law and could not "provide the foundation for a realistic economic policy."

Secret Meetings with Campaign: Germany Prepares for Possible President Trump - SPIEGEL ONLINE

Uh-huh

 

[Luddly Neddite]

Not a prob.

Pooting is still loaning/giving him money.