If we had Trump's Tax Returns as promised, when elected, he would be in prison by now. His infamous past in business is well-known. He was not known as a shrewd operator, a man respected for the art of the deal, but as the Artful Dodger, a man without scruples just to make money no matter who gets hurt. His relationship with Deutsche Bank is highly troubling.

Trump's relationship with the massive German bank dates back roughly 20 years and has taken many twists and turns. Now, that relationship could find itself at the center of special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.

The president's association with the German bank was born in the late 1990s, when major Wall Street firms would no longer loan Trump money following a series of disastrous ventures such as the Trump Shuttle and Trump's Atlantic City casinos.

At this point in Trump's checkered career, no one in America would lend him a dime. Then the relationship began in 1998, when a group of real-estate bankers gave Trump a $125 million loan for renovations to his 40 Wall Street property. Deutsche Bank's real estate business had only been in operation for a year at that point, so the group, led by Mike Offit, was willing to take a risk on Trump, who was essentially blacklisted by the major Wall Street firms, Bloomberg reported.

"I had one way to succeed — that was to make this thing big and profitable," Offit told Bloomberg. "If I was super conservative and wasn’t willing to do some unusual stuff, how was I going to compete?"

Trump quickly became Offit's best client, he said. Offit's team soon financed the construction of Trump World Tower in New York City near the United Nations and backed his failed bid at redeveloping the site of the New York Coliseum, Bloomberg wrote. Offit would leave Deutsche Bank in 1999, but Trump's relationship with the bank would only continue to grow.

The bank provided Trump with a $640 million construction loan in 2005 to assist him in building the Trump International Hotel and Tower in Chicago. But the project neared completion right as the financial crisis hit.

That led to Trump suing a group of lenders led by Deutsche Bank for $3 billion, rather than repay part of the loan when its due date came. Trump used what was an unusual defense, known as "force majeure," which allows for an extension to pay back a loan under extraordinary circumstances. Trump claimed the financial crisis was the equivalent of a "once-in-a-century credit tsunami" and similar to an earthquake.

Deutsche Bank countersued Trump, and the two parties later settled. They continued doing business together after the settlement. Trump's business was good for the bank and helped make it money, The New York Times reported in July.

The bank also lends to Trump's family, including most prominently his son-in-law and White House senior adviser Jared Kushner.

Now onto to how MAGA:
Bankruptcy 1: The Trump Taj Mahal, 1991

The first bankruptcy associated with Trump was perhaps the most significant in terms of his personal finances, according to news reports at the time. He funded the construction of the $1 billion Trump Taj Mahal casino in Atlantic City, which opened in 1990. By 1991, the casino was nearly $3 billion in debt, while Trump had racked up nearly $900 million in personal liabilities, so the business decided to file for Chapter 11 reorganization, according to the New York Times. As a result, Trump gave up half his personal stake in the casino and sold his yacht and airline, according to the Washington Post.

Bankruptcy 2: Trump Plaza Hotel, 1992

Trump acquired the Plaza Hotel in New York for $390 million in 1988. By 1992, the hotel had accumulated $550 million in debt. As a result of the bankruptcy, in exchange for easier terms on which to pay off the debts, Trump relinquished a 49 percent stake in the Plaza to a total of six lenders, according to ABC News. Trump remained the hotel’s CEO, but it was merely a gesture -- he didn’t earn a salary and had no say in the hotel’s day-to-day operations, according to the New York Times.

Bankruptcy 3: Trump Hotels and Casinos Resorts, 2004

Trump Hotels and Casinos Resorts filed for bankruptcy again in 2004 when his casinos -- including the Trump Taj Mahal, Trump Marina and Trump Plaza casinos in Atlantic City and a riverboat casino in Indiana -- had accrued an estimated $1.8 billion in debt, according to the Associated Press. Trump agreed to reduce his share in the company from 47 to 27 percent in a restructuring plan, but he was still the company’s largest single shareholder and remained in charge of its operations. Trump told the Associated Press at the time that the company represented less than 1 percent of his net worth.

Bankruptcy 4: Trump Entertainment Resorts, 2009

Trump Entertainment Resorts -- formerly Trump Hotels and Casinos Resorts -- was hit hard by the 2008 economic recession and missed a $53.1 million bond interest payment in December 2008, according to ABC News. After debating with the company’s board of directors, Trump resigned as the company’s chairman and had his corporate stake in the company reduced to 10 percent. The company continued to use Trump’s name in licensing.

So four Trump companies filed for Chapter 11 reorganization. Is that as big a deal as Fiorina says?

Risky business

While it would be better to avoid a situation where Chapter 11 reorganization is necessary, filing for bankruptcy can be a "sound business decision" when the company is facing serious financial problems, Venditto said. It’s better than the business shutting down completely.

"However, the source of the financial problems varies from case to case," he said. "Sometimes it is the result of circumstances beyond the control of the business. Sometime it caused by poor judgment. More frequently, it is a combination."

Trump’s four bankruptcies all happened within the past 25 years. That’s a lot, said Stephen Lubben, a leading expert in corporate finance and professor at Seton Hall School of Law. But to be fair, the gaming industry has been struggling the past few years, he added, and three out of four of Trump’s bankruptcies were tied to casinos.

If we had Trump's Tax Returns as promised, when elected, he would be in prison by now. His infamous past in business is well-known. He was not known as a shrewd operator, a man respected for the art of the deal, but as the Artful Dodger, a man without scruples just to make money no matter who gets hurt. His relationship with Deutsche Bank is highly troubling.

Trump's relationship with the massive German bank dates back roughly 20 years and has taken many twists and turns. Now, that relationship could find itself at the center of special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.

The president's association with the German bank was born in the late 1990s, when major Wall Street firms would no longer loan Trump money following a series of disastrous ventures such as the Trump Shuttle and Trump's Atlantic City casinos.

At this point in Trump's checkered career, no one in America would lend him a dime. Then the relationship began in 1998, when a group of real-estate bankers gave Trump a $125 million loan for renovations to his 40 Wall Street property. Deutsche Bank's real estate business had only been in operation for a year at that point, so the group, led by Mike Offit, was willing to take a risk on Trump, who was essentially blacklisted by the major Wall Street firms, Bloomberg reported.

"I had one way to succeed — that was to make this thing big and profitable," Offit told Bloomberg. "If I was super conservative and wasn’t willing to do some unusual stuff, how was I going to compete?"

Trump quickly became Offit's best client, he said. Offit's team soon financed the construction of Trump World Tower in New York City near the United Nations and backed his failed bid at redeveloping the site of the New York Coliseum, Bloomberg wrote. Offit would leave Deutsche Bank in 1999, but Trump's relationship with the bank would only continue to grow.

The bank provided Trump with a $640 million construction loan in 2005 to assist him in building the Trump International Hotel and Tower in Chicago. But the project neared completion right as the financial crisis hit.

That led to Trump suing a group of lenders led by Deutsche Bank for $3 billion, rather than repay part of the loan when its due date came. Trump used what was an unusual defense, known as "force majeure," which allows for an extension to pay back a loan under extraordinary circumstances. Trump claimed the financial crisis was the equivalent of a "once-in-a-century credit tsunami" and similar to an earthquake.

Deutsche Bank countersued Trump, and the two parties later settled. They continued doing business together after the settlement. Trump's business was good for the bank and helped make it money, The New York Times reported in July.

The bank also lends to Trump's family, including most prominently his son-in-law and White House senior adviser Jared Kushner.

Now onto to how MAGA:
Bankruptcy 1: The Trump Taj Mahal, 1991

The first bankruptcy associated with Trump was perhaps the most significant in terms of his personal finances, according to news reports at the time. He funded the construction of the $1 billion Trump Taj Mahal casino in Atlantic City, which opened in 1990. By 1991, the casino was nearly $3 billion in debt, while Trump had racked up nearly $900 million in personal liabilities, so the business decided to file for Chapter 11 reorganization, according to the New York Times. As a result, Trump gave up half his personal stake in the casino and sold his yacht and airline, according to the Washington Post.

Bankruptcy 2: Trump Plaza Hotel, 1992

Trump acquired the Plaza Hotel in New York for $390 million in 1988. By 1992, the hotel had accumulated $550 million in debt. As a result of the bankruptcy, in exchange for easier terms on which to pay off the debts, Trump relinquished a 49 percent stake in the Plaza to a total of six lenders, according to ABC News. Trump remained the hotel’s CEO, but it was merely a gesture -- he didn’t earn a salary and had no say in the hotel’s day-to-day operations, according to the New York Times.

Bankruptcy 3: Trump Hotels and Casinos Resorts, 2004

Trump Hotels and Casinos Resorts filed for bankruptcy again in 2004 when his casinos -- including the Trump Taj Mahal, Trump Marina and Trump Plaza casinos in Atlantic City and a riverboat casino in Indiana -- had accrued an estimated $1.8 billion in debt, according to the Associated Press. Trump agreed to reduce his share in the company from 47 to 27 percent in a restructuring plan, but he was still the company’s largest single shareholder and remained in charge of its operations. Trump told the Associated Press at the time that the company represented less than 1 percent of his net worth.

Bankruptcy 4: Trump Entertainment Resorts, 2009

Trump Entertainment Resorts -- formerly Trump Hotels and Casinos Resorts -- was hit hard by the 2008 economic recession and missed a $53.1 million bond interest payment in December 2008, according to ABC News. After debating with the company’s board of directors, Trump resigned as the company’s chairman and had his corporate stake in the company reduced to 10 percent. The company continued to use Trump’s name in licensing.

So four Trump companies filed for Chapter 11 reorganization. Is that as big a deal as Fiorina says?

Risky business

While it would be better to avoid a situation where Chapter 11 reorganization is necessary, filing for bankruptcy can be a "sound business decision" when the company is facing serious financial problems, Venditto said. It’s better than the business shutting down completely.

"However, the source of the financial problems varies from case to case," he said. "Sometimes it is the result of circumstances beyond the control of the business. Sometime it caused by poor judgment. More frequently, it is a combination."

Trump’s four bankruptcies all happened within the past 25 years. That’s a lot, said Stephen Lubben, a leading expert in corporate finance and professor at Seton Hall School of Law. But to be fair, the gaming industry has been struggling the past few years, he added, and three out of four of Trump’s bankruptcies were tied to casinos.