The foundation is being investigated to make sure it’s complying with NY laws governing charities, Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said.
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Trump went so far as filing an ethics complaint, but it was later thrown out by the New York State Joint Commission on Public Ethics, reported Newsday.
According to the Washington Post investigation, Trump has not contributed to his foundation since 2008, yet solicited donations he then presented to others as his own – in several cases seemingly to advance his own business and personal interests. The Trump Foundation has also been accused of never sending donations to four different charities, and using $20,000 to pay for a six-foot portrait of the presidential candidate.
This allegation came after a 2013 Orlando Sentinel story resurfaced, which found that Trump’s foundation donated $25,000 to Pam Bondi’s reelection campaign – just as her office was deciding whether or not to prosecute Trump University, which they ultimately did not do.
When asked about the NY investigation, Bondi’s office said it could not “answer questions about political contributions”, adding that there was no basis for any investigation into Trump University, because in 2013, the office had received only one consumer complaint.
The Trump campaign dismissed the investigation, calling Schneiderman a “political hack”.
“We’re dealing with an attorney general who everyone in NY knows is a total lightweight”, Donald Trump said of Eric Schneiderman following the Trump University lawsuit filing.
“If I’m a traffic cop, but I’m a Democrat, and he speeds by me, I have to give him a ticket”, Eric Schneiderman said on “CBS This Morning” Wednesday.
New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman has opened an inquiry into the Donald J. Trump Foundation.
“One candidate’s family foundation has saved countless lives around the world”, Obama said, referring to the Democratic presidential nominee’s own charitable foundation run with former President Bill Clinton. “He comes up to my office looking for campaign contributions”, Trump said of Schneiderman.
New York’s attorney general has disclosed that his office is investigating Donald Trump’s charity to determine whether it has abided by state laws governing non-profits.
“While my opponent slanders you as deplorable and irredeemable, I call you hardworking American patriots who love your country and want a better future for all of our people”, Trump said in Iowa.
Soon after receiving the donation from the Trump Foundation in 2013, Ms Bondi’s office declined to participate in the lawsuit.
All nonprofits are barred from making politically-related contributions.
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The House members wrote that the 2013 payment may have influenced Bondi’s decision not to have Florida participate in a lawsuit filed by several USA states against the now-defunct Trump University.
