Wants to investigate

Rep. Maxine Waters wants to investigate Trump Foundation

By ZACHARY WARMBRODT and HEATHER CAYGLE

Rep. Maxine Waters, who is leading a probe into President Donald Trump's finances, wants Trump's nonprofit foundation to be the Democrats' next target because of tax evasion concerns.

The House Financial Services Committee chairwoman hinted to reporters on Thursday that she may even have a lead in the form of a letter "from somebody who told me about a situation that they want to talk with me more about.”

Trump agreed to shut down his personal charity in December following a lawsuit brought by the New York attorney general that alleged the president and his children used the foundation for their personal and political benefit.

“I think that’s an area that should be looked at because I think the foundation has been used by him to avoid paying taxes," the California Democrat said.

Michael Cohen, the president's former lawyer, testified Wednesday that Trump directed the foundation to pay for a portrait of himself that had been auctioned off to a fake bidder and then kept the art.

Waters, who has called for Trump's impeachment, was circumspect about whether she would summon anyone to testify following Cohen's comments.

“No, no, no," she said. "I don’t want to preempt my staff on that.”

But Waters said that Trump's longtime lender, Deutsche Bank, was cooperating with Democrats as they investigate the president's finances.

"They’re just now being cooperative; they had not been," she said. "But now that I have the chairmanship and we’re in the majority … yes, they have offered to cooperate and my staff have just started to work with them to get the documents.”

Deutsche Bank previously confirmed it had received an inquiry from the House Financial Services and Intelligence committees and said it was "engaged in a productive dialogue" to determine how to assist them.