The one question that will determine whether Donald Trump goes down for money laundering

| 1:16 am EDT May 25, 2017
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As much as Donald Trump’s exploding turmoil is based around the suspicion that he and/or his campaign colluded with the Russian government to rig the election, circumstances suggest that two other things may take him down first: his attempt at obstructing the investigation into the Russia scandal, and the suspicion that Trump’s business empire may be dependent on laundered Russian money. Whether or not Trump goes down for money laundering will come down to one essential question.

Here are the facts as they’re known. Deutsche Bank was busted earlier this year for having laundered Russian money into the hands of its clients in places like New York City (link). Deutsche Bank also has a long history of having provided loans and loan guarantees to Donald Trump (link), even after other banks gave up on him as being a bad risk amid his crumbling empire, and even as Deutsche was facing overall financial struggles of its own.

So the essential question is a rather straightforward one: has Deutsche Bank been laundering Russian money into the hands of Donald Trump over the years, or is it merely a coincidence that Deutsche was laundering Russian money and loaning money to Trump? It’s one of those things that doesn’t sound like a coincidence on first blush. But if the Senate Intel Committee or the FBI or Special Counsel Robert Mueller wants to take Trump down for money laundering, they’ll have to prove that it wasn’t a coincidence.

Is the proof there? We’ll find out eventually. It’s important to keep in mind that even if Donald Trump’s attempts at obstruction of justice end up forcing him out of the presidency, the investigation into his finances is likely to continue until it reaches its logical conclusion. If it turns out Trump has been illegally taking laundered money from Russia, that’s the kind of crime that would go far beyond mere political ramifications. Follow Palmer Report on Facebook and Twitter.