If Trump was using his money as he has said in his broad description of his successful manipulation of politicians, then he did something which is possibly illegal.
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Despite flak from several Florida newspapers and the suggestion from the Miami Herald that she was “bought and paid for”, the state’s abrasive attorney general – who has publicly endorsed Trump for president – remains defiant.
The New York Times reports Trump’s charity is accused of donating $25,000 to a campaign group supporting Bondi in 2013 to influence her amid allegations of fraud at Trump University.
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. Charitable organizations aren’t allowed to make political contributions – which apparently officials with the Trump Foundation didn’t realize when they gave the money to a group backing Bondi’s reelection, And Justice for All.
Political observers are well-familiar with the term “pay to play”, but over the past month, that phrase has been coupled with Hillary Clinton and drilled into voters’ heads, despite near-universal agreement that none of the concerns about the Clinton Foundation actually amount to any sort of quid pro quo.
Bondi subsequently decided against pursuing an investigation into Trump University, leading to accusation of “pay-to-play”. Bondi’s office says there was never any recommendation of an investigation into Trump University.
In March 2014, Donald Trump opened his 126-room Palm Beach resort, Mar-a-Lago, for a $3,000-per-person fundraiser for Pam Bondi. “And the IRS certainly thought so and said it was illegal and fined Trump for that set of facts”. In New York, the attorney general’s civil lawsuit claims that the unaccredited Trump University deceived students into thinking that they were attending a legitimate, accredited university.
“One of the things that I learned during my run is that the depth of corruption on both sides is unimaginable”, Carson said Tuesday. “It’s true.” Another time, he told the Wall Street Journal, “When you give, they do whatever the hell you want them to do”. “Based upon my personal experience and employment, I believe that Trump University was a fraudulent scheme, and that it preyed upon the elderly and uneducated to separate them from their money”.
Trump “attacked my foundation”.
– There was never any recommendation by the staff to investigate or sue Trump University in 2013, and consequently, the matter never rose to the attorney general’s level for any decision of any kind.
Both Trump and Bondi have rejected the idea the gift was meant to influence Bondi’s decision-making about Trump University. As David Fahrenthold recounted in The Washington Post, Trump paid a $2,500 penalty because nonprofit, tax-exempt foundations are barred by law from making campaign contributions.
Asked on Monday what he was “hoping to get out of that donation”, Trump responded: “I’ve just known Pam Bondi for years”.
Bondi, a vocal Florida surrogate for Trump, told a Tampa rally in March that they have been “friends for years, and I know his family personally”.
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The focus on Trump’s foundation also presents Clinton yet another opportunity to raise one of her campaign’s favorite subjects: Trump’s refusal to release his tax returns.
