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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Nonetheless, Democrats have leveled the accusation that Trump has paid off government officials for preferential treatment and made the Bondi donation a pivotal part of that line of attack.
Clinton has dismissed Trump’s allegation as a political smear.
The New York lawsuit also comes at a time when Democrats are hopeful to get mileage from an embarrassing mistake that the Trump Foundation made in 2013. However, Schneiderman’s office said it considers the Clinton Foundation, which is a separate charity, to be “in step” with state rules.
The artist says Melania Trump bid $20,000 for the painting at the auction.
But the matter resurfaced this month when it was revealed Trump paid a $2,500 fine to the Internal Revenue Service because the contribution came from his foundation, violating federal law barring charities from making political contributions.
Eric Schneiderman told CNN on Tuesday night that his staff was “looking into the Trump Foundation and making sure it’s complying with the laws that govern charities in NY”.
“I regulate the nonprofits in NY state. But we have been looking into the Trump foundation to make sure it’s complying with the laws governing charities in NY”.
Schneiderman, a Democrat who supports Hillary Clinton, Trump’s opponent in the race for the White House, has said his actions are not politically motivated. For years, the foundation has primarily given away other people’s money, the Post reported this week.
The second story is detailed in a September 10 Washington Post deep-dive into the Trump Foundation.
Obviously, Donald isn’t thrilled about all this, and in a statement via his campaign spokesman, Jason Miller, he called it a “left-wing hit job”.
“Washington: In a report yesterday, it was revealed that former secretary of state Colin Powell labeled Trump a national disgrace” and “an worldwide pariah”, in a personal email to journalist Emily Miller on June 17.
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Donald Trump also hosted a March 2014 fundraiser for Bondi on the lawn of his palatial Mar-a-Lago Club. There has been no evidence that foreign donors to the foundation obtained favors from the State Department while Clinton headed the agency. The ad shows Trump and Bondi engaging in an air kiss at a Trump rally.
