On Wednesday, campaign manager Kellyanne Conway found herself fending off questions from George Stephanopoulos of ABC on whether her boss used a big political donation to sway Florida’s attorney general into skipping an investigation into Trump University, reports Politico. As most readers know, Bondi’s office had received complaints from more than 20 Floridians to investigate Trump University due to their negative experiences.
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Why is the contribution in the news right now?
Bondi dropped her state’s investigation into the now-defunct Trump University in October 2013, shortly after Trump made the sizable and likely illegal donation to her campaign.
Trump was ordered to pay a $2,500 fine to the IRS over the $25,000 donation. The check went to And Justice For All, a committee that was the fundraising arm for Bondi’s reelection campaign – and undeniably political in nature.
“It’s an unfortunate series of coincidences and errors, Trump campaign spokeswoman Hope Hicks told the Herald/Times in March”.
What’s so controversial about this campaign contribution?
And today, Steve Eder and Megan Twohey have a piece in the New York Times that provides some critical context for the Florida story, which is that Trump has not only been a major donor to all kinds of politicians, he has also run afoul of the law with his contributions before. The suit sought $40 million in restitution.
A September 14Orlando Sentinel story noted that Schneiderman cited dozens of complaints filed with the Florida Attorney General’s Office in 2008, two years before Bondi took office.
But only one state, New York, has advanced its prosecution to the point of a trial, expected to take place after Election Day.
What does Bondi say about that timing?
Who is investigating the contribution?
CREW filed a complaint over the Trump contribution in March. No decision has been made.
Although Trump did not write Bondi a check that night, he and his daughter Ivanka each donated $500 to Bondi in the fall of 2013. The letter, signed by commission executive director Virlindia Doss and stamped “Confidential” in large type, advised Bondi that she could waive confidentiality and make all documents in the case public.
And a few days later, this contribution from the Trump Foundation comes in to a group supporting Attorney General Bondi.
“This is not about my strong record on transparency”, Bondi said in a statement. Something that for her part Bondi has denied over the years.
Trump and Bondi both have claimed they’re longtime friends. The ties between Bondi and Trump deepen, as his foundation gave a pro-Bondi PAC an additional $25,000. The event was held just five months after Bondi reversed course and ended her investigation.
Neither Bondi nor Trump would respond to Herald/Times questions asking when or how they first met or the nature of their relationship. And she’s done an fantastic job as the attorney general of Florida.
And what about her 2010 bid for attorney general? The end of that story also included an excuse about Bondi trying to give the contribution back to Trump, who didn’t accept the return. Hopkins, according to Barrett, brought $200,000 in cash to the closing for his apartments, which Trump attended; the money was ferried to the bank in a Trump limo.
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“A news story comes out saying that the attorney general’s office is looking into this NY state lawsuit into Trump University and related entities, and a few days later, this contribution from the Trump Foundation comes in to a group supporting Attorney General Bondi”, Bookbinder said. Remember, it was Citizens United’s long campaign ad disguised as a legitimate documentary defaming Hillary Clinton’s character, and the subsequent action stopping it, that prompted Citizens United and then-Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell to take the case all the way to the Supreme Court.
