Instead, it seems to mainly operate as a way for Trump to turn others’ contributions into his own; “all of the donations have been other people’s money – an arrangement that experts say is nearly unheard of for a family foundation”, the Post wrote.
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Trump started the Trump Foundation in 1987, and there are some unusual things going on with it, The Washington Post reported.
“Trump had found a way to give away somebody else’s money and claim credit for himself”, wrote Fahrenthold, whose article runs almost 3,000 words and describes not only the police foundation donations but other dealings of Trump’s foundation.
Fahrenthold’s latest report on how Trump’s charity runs on other people’s money does not disappoint. BuzzFeed reported that the police foundation has paid an average of $261,777 to Mar-a-Lago “each year on its annual ball, held at Trump’s club every year since the charity was founded in 2006”. After Israel finished his six-foot-tall portrait, the work would be auctioned.
The foundation has taken donations from other foundations and used it to make payments to still other groups, with Trump taking the credit. Many of Trump’s other donations, which the Post reports range from about $1,000 to $50,000, go to charities that rent out Trump properties, such as Mar-a-Lago. When you consider that in 2007, Trump gave his foundation $35,000, subtracting the cost of the painting, he only made a donation of $15,000 that year.
At the same time that it began to rely on other people’s money, the Trump Foundation sometimes appeared to flout IRS rules by purchasing things that seemed to benefit only Trump.
Trump’s wife, Melania, placed the winning bid of $20,000 for the six-foot portrait.
The painter, Michael Israel, told the Post it was his understanding the artwork was sent to a Trump-owned golf course.
Using a charity’s money to buy shit for yourself is what’s called “self-dealing”, and it’s generally prohibited by the IRS. She suggested he may have given money to a hospital in a different city, but the Trump Foundation’s records clearly list the Omaha Children’s Medical Center with an accurate address.
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When the Post asked Donald Trump’s staff to explain these five gaffes, it commented on one – an improper donation to a group supporting Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi. The Trumps also used Foundation funds to buy a $12,000 helmet signed by Tim Tebow. Trump University – a get-rich-quick scheme reportedly bilking more than 5,000 students out of $40 million – was being investigated by New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman.
