Ms. Bondi, who says she is “devastated” that her integrity is in question, solicited a political contribution from Donald Trump at about the same time that her office was considering joining a New York State investigation of alleged fraud at Trump University and affiliated institutions. Nancy Watkins, a Tampa accountant for the committee that received the donation, said that Trump refused to take the money back and instead sent a personal check.
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The Associated Press reported Monday that Bondi personally solicited the contribution from Donald Trump around the same time her office was being asked about a NY investigation of alleged fraud at Trump University and its affiliates.
According to the AP, Bondi had personally sought out a donation from Trump “several weeks” before her office announced it was considering joining an investigation against Trump University in September 2013.
Maxwell, who reviewed thousands of pages of documents released by Bondi’s office in response to his public records request, found references to scores of complaints about Trump’s seminars. “If elected president I know he will bring America’s best minds together to preserve what we have, and secure what we need, for the future”, she said as was reported by Florida Politics.
Unfortunately, Ms. Bondi has never really shown that her office is above partisanship in pursuit of justice: She sat on her hands rather than launch a criminal investigation into Republican lawmakers’ deceptive process of redistricting.
Bondi was the most prominent Florida politician to endorse Trump before the Florida primary and continues to work closely with the Trump campaign as a surrogate.
The Associated Press reported on Monday that Bondi had “nixed” suing Trump.
After the check came in, Ms. Bondi abandoned all consideration of partnering with her counterpart in NY. First was the controversy over Donald Trump’s comments about the judge in the case, and now the mainstream media are frenetically investigating the matter involving the Republican presidential candidate.
Pam Bondi speaks during a news conference about the Supreme Court’s second day of hearings on the constitutionality of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act March 27, 2012 in Washington, DC. The newspaper also reported that the campaign and the treasurer of the foundation were unaware of the mistake until they were notified that a group had filed a complaint with the IRS about the donation. House Democratic Leader Mark Pafford called Bondi’s conduct “unacceptable” and said Floridians deserve a “full accounting”. The Trump Institute was licensed by Trump to run his seminars, however, with Trump keeping a share of the profits, according to depositions in the Trump University case.
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In contrast, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, a Democrat, filed a still-pending lawsuit in 2013 alleging that Trump University bilked students out of $40 million.
