New York Attorney General Erick Schneiderman announced on September 13, 2016 that his office is investigating the Trump Foundation for possible violations of the state’s laws governing charities. Schneiderman said that he was troubled by transactions that had been reported recently. He told CNN that his office had been in contact with the foundation about the investigation, though he had not called a press conference about it.
https://youtu.be/1aFQO5KlY1g?t=198
Concerns About The Foundation
Among the Foundation’s questionable donations are:
– the $25,000 gift to the campaign fund of Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, which we reported recently;
– $20,000 for a painting of Trump that the artist produced at a charitable event held at the Mar-a-Lago. There is no record of the disposition of the painting. If Trump donated it to a charity, that would be legally acceptable. But if he kept the painting or hung it on Trump organization property, that would be self dealing,violating the state’s laws governing how charities operate.
Trump’s conduct also has been questionable. For example, Trump has not given any money to the foundation since 2008, as the Washington Post reported. Trump solicited other organizations for donations to specified charities. The Foundation then donated only the amounts that those donors had given and reported the donations as its own. For the last several years, the Foundation’s donations have mostly been made to organizations that did business with Trump. For example, charity events were held at the Mar-a-Lago Hotel, which was paid for the space and services. Often, Trump did not donate to the charities, however.
Trump University Litigation
Schneiderman’s office sued The Donald and Trump University in 2013, alleging consumer fraud, deceptive business practices, and violations of New York laws governing universities. The allegations in that complaint share some common themes with the Trump Foundation issues, such as disregarding the requirements for maintaining their special status. As the New Yorker reported, Trump U claimed to offer graduate degrees, but it never obtained the required charter to be recognized as a university under New York law. And the classes were not counted toward a degree.
The foundation and the actions against Trump University are related because the Trump Foundation made the illegal donation to Bondi’s reelection campaign just four days after she announced that she was considering joining Schneiderman’s investigation. Bondi decided a few weeks later that there wasn’t enough evidence to proceed further. And the Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee have asked United States Attorney General Loretta Lynch to investigate the foundation’s donation to Bondi. They pointed to Trump’s claim during the primary campaign that he gets what he wants when he makes political donations.
Trump’s Response
Trump has responded in his usual fashion, by calling Schneider names (“lightweight” and “hack”) and accusing him of
“trying to extort me with a civil lawsuit.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9BAvyacmi0E
Image is a YouTube screengrab.
