The Hillary Clinton campaign responded to a report in the Washington Post that revealed the Internal Revenue Service assessed a penalty of $2,500 to Donald Trump and 'The Trump Foundation' for using funds from the charitable trust in making anillegal campaign donation to the state of Florida's Attorney General, Pam Bondi.
Goal was to derail Trump University investigation
Hillary for America Communications Director, Jennifer Palmieri pounced on the donation. The intention of the donation was to influence AG Bondi to "stave off an investigation into the sham Trump University that has ripped off unsuspecting students." The school has been under investigation for being a sham, fraud scheme in bilking students with promises of riches in real estate.
Trump Foundation gave Florida's AG $25k when she thought about investigating Trump U. After the money, she didn't. https://t.co/ZX8mrDjZI4
— Gideon Resnick (@GideonResnick) September 3, 2016
Comparing the Trump Foundation with the Clinton Foundation, chief spokesperson Palmieri said the Clinton Foundation makes "AIDS and malaria drugs more accessible", with the accusation of "laundering illegal campaign donations."
The Washington Post reports the donation was made in 2013, at the same time the AG of Florida was looking at the schoolfor its scam and schemes in defrauding students to the tune of tens of thousands of dollars. The investigation into the schoolsubsequently was dropped.
Other illegal uses of Trump Foundation
A watchdog group drove the investigation, the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW). The group filed a complaint with the IRS, noting the foundation, as a charity, was not allowed to make campaign contributions. CREW has also accused them of using the foundation for his own campaign events.
Florida’s AG Is Tied Up In The Trump University Scandal. Trump Foundation made payment. Tax fraudhttps://t.co/q5BHRkwWd5 via @thinkprogress
— Frontera Kid (@Fronterakid) July 7, 2016
The Trump Foundation was used last January when Trump refused to take part in a GOP debate and instead, held a "veterans’ charity event." The Trump campaign employees directed and screened donations, which is an illegal act.
According to CREW,DonaldTrump handed out "ceremonial checks from the Trump Foundation" printed with the words “Make America Great Again!” Another "No No." It will be interesting to see how all of this pans out.