The donation – which was solicited by Bondi, according to the Associated Press – was received four days after Bondi’s office announced that it was reviewing fraud allegations made against Trump University in a NY class-action lawsuit. Bondi was considering joining Schneiderman’s lawsuit, according to reports, when she solicited Trump for donations to her re-election campaign, The Associated Press reported. Last week, The Washington Post reported that Trump had paid a $2,500 penalty tax after that improper campaign donation came to light. “I never, nor was my office, investigating him”.
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Trump: “I never spoke to her” …
But Clinton is unconvinced.
“There’s a problem first of all with a charity giving a political contribution, and then it looks like there’s a problem with giving false information to the IRS”, said Noah Bookbinder, executive director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, a liberal watchdog group.
“The American people deserve to know what was said, because clearly the attorney general did not proceed with the investigation”, Clinton said, according to the Washington Post.
A Bondi spokesman said the complaints never led to any consideration of an investigation of Trump-related businesses aside from one staffer checking to see if the NY case had any relevance in Florida.
That donation violated IRS rules that bar nonprofits from making political gifts.
New York’s lawsuit against Trump University is still pending, along with a lawsuit filed by former students of the school. “When I want something, I get it”, he said at a campaign event in January.
“‘The process took at least several weeks, from the time they spoke to the time they received the contribution, ‘ Reichelderfer told AP”. “I have a lot of respect for her”.
TRUMP: I’ve just known Pam Bondi for years.
Donald Trump gave Pam Bondi a $25,000 campaign donation as the Florida Republican Attorney General was deliberating on whether or not to bring a suit against the Manhattan billionaire for fraud at his Trump University. Instead, staff, doing due diligence, reviewed the complaints and the NY litigation and made the proper determination that the NY litigation would provide relief to aggrieved consumers nationwide.
“I don’t think this was a lengthy, memorable call”, Hicks said.
After dispensing further pleasantries (including a nice shoutout to outgoing Senate Minority Leader Arthenia Joyner), Clinton got down to business, which was all about trashing Donald Trump as being hopelessly overmatched when it came to discussing national security issues.
Hopefully, the rest of the media will follow the MSNBC host’s lead and recognize that the real pay-to-play scandal they crave isn’t coming from the Clinton Foundation – it’s coming from Trump’s.
The check arrived shortly after an Orlando Sentinel story saying that Bondi’s office was reviewing the university.
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This newspaper, among many others, has chided her for failing to sever the connection with the foundation so as to eliminate the appearance of a conflict of interest. Ray also said the office never gave any thought to joining in the NY attorney general’s case.
