SCOTT HORSLEY, BYLINE: Donald Trump has long insisted he’s uniquely qualified to fix a political system corrupted by campaign contributions because, as he said in a Fox News debate last summer, he knows that system inside and out. Unsurprisingly, the prime example he used was himself. “As a businessman, I need that”. “I give to everybody. When I call, they kiss my a [bleep]”. A lawyer for Trump said that he had given $47,000 – well in excess of the limit – and then failed when he attempted to correct the mistake by asking for the donations back. The donation violated federal tax regulations because it came from his charitable organization, the Trump Foundation. “They contradict each other”.
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Bondi had been investigating allegations against Trump University in Florida, and in September 2013 – three days before the Trump foundation donation to a pro-Bondi PAC – the Orlando Sentinel reported that her office was considering joining the NY lawsuit against Trump University. And, in fact, no other state has ever joined the NY lawsuit.
Yes, when Trump needs something, he gets it. Maybe he is thinking like a regular politician, who sees this issue as a “distraction” from his campaign, one he’d like to put behind him. “Never spoke to her about that at all”, Trump said. “I just have a lot of respect for her and she’s very popular”.
But pressed for the name of the staffer who reviewed the Trump University allegations, Ray directed reporters to a file of more than 9,000 pages, offering no further assistance.
The Donald’s affections did not stop there.
On Sept. 6, The Huffington Post reported that Trump rented Mar-a-Lago, his 126-room mansion in Palm Beach, to Bondi’s campaign for a 2013 fundraiser that charged guests $3,000 a plate. The invitation listed Trump and Rudy Giuliani as “special guests”.
Trump’s latest assertion that he had not spoken to Bondi about Trump University revived questions about why the NY real estate developer would have donated to the Florida attorney general.
Hillary Clinton on Tuesday addressed Donald Trump’s recent fine from the Internal Revenue Service related to an illegal political contribution he made in 2013.
Hillary Clinton’s campaign has been trying to draw more attention to the controversy surrounding Trump’s foundation, routinely noting a disparity in coverage between the two foundations. That gift did not exist.
The group was a fake institute, ultimately tied to Trump.
“The rules are clear: a tax-exempt charitable foundation can not support a political group”, the group’s executive director Noah Bookbinder said in a news release at the time of the complaint.
The questions keep coming about the timing of the contribution to Bondi. It’s the server, the foundation and the speaking fees.
Asked by CNN’s Jake Tapper if Trump’s decision to donate to Bondi from his charity undercut his ability to criticize Clinton, former Republican candidate Ben Carson pointed the finger at Democrats and Republicans. Graham helpfully noted that to “catalogue the full sweep of allegations would require thousands of words”.
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This is the textbook definition of pay-to-play, yet the media has largely ignored it and instead chooses to cover baseless accusations about the Clinton Foundation – an A-rated organization that has helped millions of people around the globe.
