As if the news hasn’t been bad enough for Donald Trump and his faltering campaign for the White House, we now have a report from RealClearPolitics alleging that Trump used money from his foundation to help jumpstart his 2016 campaign.
According to the report:
- In the three years from 2011 to 2014, leading up to the announcement of his candidacy, the Trump Foundation donated almost $300,000 to several conservative groups and organizations.
- In 2011, Trump met with a conservative activist in South Carolina to begin laying the foundation for a campaign.
If these allegations are proven to be true, it would be a direct violation of IRS which state that charity executives are not allowed to use a foundation funds to finance personal endeavors that benefit the person who controls foundation funds.
The report from RealClearPolitics also notes:
“In many cases, this flow of money corresponded to prime speaking slots or endorsements that aided Trump as he sought to recast himself as a plausible Republican candidate for president. Although sources familiar with the thinking behind the donations cautioned that Trump did not explicitly ask for favors in return for the money, they said the contributions were part of a deliberate effort by Trump to ingratiate himself with influential conservatives and brighten his political prospects.”
It also turns out that Trump donated money to a group controlled by the Koch brothers, Citizens United. After Trump gave $100,000 to Citizens United, he began getting lots of notice at GOP events:
“In April 2014, when Citizens United hosted a ‘cattle call’ of would-be Republican candidates for president in New Hampshire, Trump was there. In January 2015, at Citizens United’s Freedom Summit in Iowa, Trump was again on the program.”
Once again we see the real reason Donald Trump doesn’t want anyone to look too closely at his financial records: They are littered with shady dealings and illegal activity. This man is a disgrace, and with each passing day it becomes clearer what an enormous danger this man is. It’s a wonder he’s not already in prison.
Featured Image Via Evan Guest for Flickr available under a Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic License
