I've read about the Preet Bharara angle. He was putting together a money laundering case against DB with regards to Russia. That investigation does not appear to have been continued under the new leadership of the Justice Department. However, it's common to replace US Attnys with a new administration so I can't say his firing is evidence of anything necessarily.

I did find the WH denials yesterday of these subpoena's to be interesting. The lawyers used very specific language, both saying that they checked with the bank and the bank denies it. I'm sure they are aware of the law in regards to banks and subpoena's. It would be a clear violation of the law if DB had notified the subject of these files to any subpoena:



426. Prohibiting Banks from Notifying Customers of Grand Jury Subpoenas

There are two situations when banks and their personnel are prohibited from notifying their customers of a grand jury subpoena for their records. The first is when the government obtains a court order delaying notification by following the procedures set at § 3409(a) of the Act. See Delayed Notice at 11, 12 U.S.C. § 3413(i). The second situation is where the records are being subpoenaed to investigate crimes against a financial institution or supervisory agency, 12 U.S.C. § 3420(b) makes it a crime for the bank or its personnel to provide notice to the customer.

* It should also be noted that 18 U.S.C. § 1510(b) establishes criminal penalties for situations where an officer of a financial institution notifies, directly or indirectly, any person regarding the existence or contents of a subpoena with the intent to obstruct a judicial proceeding.