Raw Story reports that MSNBC anchor Lawrence O’Donnell revealed Tuesday evening that a source close to Deutsche Bank ⁠— which The Inquisitr reported likely possesses Donald Trump’s tax returns ⁠— claims the bank has loan documents that show Trump has received loans thanks to billionaire Russian oligarchs close to Vladimir Putin.

“The source close to Deutsche Bank says that the Trump tax returns reveal that the president pays little to no income tax in some years,” O’Donnell said.

“And the source says that Deutsche Bank is in possession of loan documents that show Donald Trump has obtained loans with co-signers and that he would not have been able to obtain those loans without co-signers.”

“The source close to Deutsche Bank says that the co-signers of Donald Trump’s Deutsche Bank loans are Russian billionaires close to Vladimir Putin,” O’Donnell continued.

O’Donnell said that if the source is correct, it would explain a lot about the relationship between Trump and Putin and the latter’s “publicly stated preference” for 2016 Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, who Trump beat to take the presidency.

Last Friday, lawyers for Deutsche Bank and Capital One refused to reveal to the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals if they possessed Trump’s tax returns. This refusal caused U.S. Circuit Judge Peter W. Hall to force them into doing so to a New York appellate court by Tuesday afternoon.

"Current and former bank officials have said Deutsche Bank has portions of Mr. Trump's personal and corporate tax returns for multiple years as part of the reams of financial data it has collected over its two-decade relationship with him."https://t.co/AXiYX4lE3o — Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) August 28, 2019

As New York Times investigative reporter Susanne Craig revealed on Twitter, Deutsche Bank all but confirmed they are in possession of the documents. As for Capital One, Politico reports that it said it “does not believe” that it has Trump’s tax returns.

Trump’s refusal to release his tax returns has been a thorn in the side of Democrats who believe he has something to hide. While many believe that they contain damning foreign interests, others think they will reveal that he isn’t as wealthy as he claims to be. The president’s refusal has also broken with years of presidential tradition, which has increased public curiosity about their contents.

Trump is currently suing House Democrats to prevent them from obtaining his New York state tax returns, which can now be shared with Congress thanks to New York Governor Andrew Cuomo passing the TRUST Act. In addition, House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal is suing the Treasury Department for the president’s tax returns via a 1924 law that states that heads of congressional tax committees are legally allowed to access anyone United State resident’s tax returns ⁠— including the president’s.