There is something rotten in the state of New York and it lies within the Trump Foundation. In the year 2001, Trump created the foundation presumably in response to the World Trade Center tragedy.
The Trump Foundation Begins
The foundation began accepting donations immediately. At first, the Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump donated his own money to fund it.
However, the Trump Foundation tax records show he has not donated any of his own money since 2008. Although Trump has his name on the foundation and the checks, it’s other people’s money that he’s giving away.
The Trump Foundation has also violated Internal Revenue Service (IRS) rules that oversee non-profit organizations.
For example we know the following:
- The Trump Foundation gave a political gift, prohibited under tax law, to help Florida Attorney General Pamela Bondi (R)
- The Trump Foundation appears to have bought items for Trump himself — including a $12,000 football helmet
- And a (presumably) stunning $20,000 portrait of a much younger, slimmer and even oranger Donald J. Trump
The Tax Man Cometh
IRS laws clearly state a charity can not act as a dealer for the charity owner’s interests or what is known as self-dealing.
The Washington Post also found that in at least five cases, the Trump Foundation reported making a donation that didn’t seem to exist.
The Post looked at 14 years of the Trump Foundation’s non-profit tax filings and contacted over 200 people and organizations listed as recipients. Those who either received monetary donations or individuals who received physical gifts.
The Post found five instances since 2008, where the Trump Foundation said they had given money to a specific charity, but in fact did not. When the Washington Post called the alleged recipients to ask whether they received the donation, the reporter was told no such money was given.
Please Explain
The Post then asked Trump’s staff to explain these five apparent errors.
They offered some type of explanation for one instance which involved Florida Attorney General Pamela Bondi who is a registered Republican.
The Trump Foundation had given a political contribution to a campaign group connected to Florida’s attorney general. They neglected to say during the explanation that this is a violation of tax law.
It’s interesting to note that at one point, Bondi had considered investigating fraud allegations against Trump University in Florida.
The missing donation was for $25,000. A gift from the Donald J. Trump Foundation made in 2013 to the Attorney General Pam Bondi.
Another interesting thing to note is that ultimately, Bondi decided NOT to move forward with the fraud case. Interesting indeed.
The explanation the Trump Foundation gave was simple; there had been a mix up in the name of the organization the $25,000 was given to.
To Err is Human
On record, the Trump Foundation gave the $25,ooo to a Kansas charity with a similar name to that of Bondi’s political group. So, according to the representatives for the Trump Foundation, it was a simple mistake.
That was the best explanation they could give for that one incident out of the five missing donations. They left the other four unresolved.
The trouble is the donation was never made to the Kansas organization.
Not only that, it’s illegal for a charity to donate to a political organization (Bondi’s group).
This sounds like another (revealing) strike against the Trump organization and how they like to do business in general.
Featured image cropped from portrait.