09-21-2016, 05:09 PM
The Washington Post's piece today on Trump's supposed 'charitable' foundation and donations is very damning (but not really surprising, it's long been speculated that's part of the reason he keeps promising then refusing to release his tax returns).
'Self-dealing' is a violation of federal tax law whereby people use non-profit charitable foundations and donations for personal or business financial gain.
What Trump has reportedly done is to establish a non-profit charity, the Trump Foundation, to which he barely donates (which is extremely rare for a self-named/branded charity). He got a couple of big donations from professional wrestling honchos several years back when he was involved in those reality shows. He used the charity's money not to help others, but to pay off law suit settlements and fines against his for-profit businesses, to buy a large portrait of himself, etc... Big no-no.
Trump is already being investigated for possible financial illegalities by the New York Attorney General following his donation to Florida AG Pam Bondi (she then declined to prosecute a Trump University class action lawsuit in the state).
Trump and his campaign did not respond to requests for comments and rebuttals from the WP investigative reporter. They instead released a statement today claiming that the piece is "peppered with inaccuracies and omissions", but didn't provide any details.
The Clinton Foundation's full financial reports and tax docs have been audited and posted publicly for years. Based on his his pattern of pointing at Clinton when he's questioned about potential misdeeds or improprieties, I'd expect Trump to claim some kind of charity tax impropriety on Clinton's part. But, I think he'll be shooting blanks in this case if he tries such deflection. Clinton Foundation records have been reviewed by experts and political rivals with a fine-toothed comb and gotten an A-rating from charity rating organizations.
WP piece: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/...ge%2Fstory
'Self-dealing' is a violation of federal tax law whereby people use non-profit charitable foundations and donations for personal or business financial gain.
What Trump has reportedly done is to establish a non-profit charity, the Trump Foundation, to which he barely donates (which is extremely rare for a self-named/branded charity). He got a couple of big donations from professional wrestling honchos several years back when he was involved in those reality shows. He used the charity's money not to help others, but to pay off law suit settlements and fines against his for-profit businesses, to buy a large portrait of himself, etc... Big no-no.
Trump is already being investigated for possible financial illegalities by the New York Attorney General following his donation to Florida AG Pam Bondi (she then declined to prosecute a Trump University class action lawsuit in the state).
Trump and his campaign did not respond to requests for comments and rebuttals from the WP investigative reporter. They instead released a statement today claiming that the piece is "peppered with inaccuracies and omissions", but didn't provide any details.
The Clinton Foundation's full financial reports and tax docs have been audited and posted publicly for years. Based on his his pattern of pointing at Clinton when he's questioned about potential misdeeds or improprieties, I'd expect Trump to claim some kind of charity tax impropriety on Clinton's part. But, I think he'll be shooting blanks in this case if he tries such deflection. Clinton Foundation records have been reviewed by experts and political rivals with a fine-toothed comb and gotten an A-rating from charity rating organizations.
WP piece: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/...ge%2Fstory