Trump defends use of Deutsche Bank, says bank has been 'maligned'

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday defended his use of Deutsche Bank AG and said the German bank was being "badly written about and maligned," as congressional Democrats probe his finances.

Democrats on two U.S. House of Representatives panels are investigating the president's ties with the German bank and are pursuing his records of accounts, transactions and investments, as well as those of his family members and the Trump Organization.

In addition to investigations over its ties with the Republican president, Deutsche Bank is struggling to reinvent itself and over the weekend announced a major restructuring that includes 18,000 job cuts, which has pummeled its shares.

Trump, a real estate developer and former reality television star, has sued to block the U.S. House committees' subpoenas for the bank records, which lawmakers say are critical to investigating any potential conflicts of interest or other issues.

A U.S. judge in May said Congress has the legal authority to demand the records. Trump has appealed and oral arguments are scheduled for August.

Lawmakers are also seeking Trump's financial records from Capitol One Financial (NYSE: COF), as well as Trump's long-time accounting firm Mazars LLP.

(Reporting by Susan Heavey; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Nick Zieminski)

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