Today, Donald Trump denied any linkage between an illegal contribution of $25,000 that the Trump Foundation made to Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi’s Political Action Committee (“PAC”) and Ms. Bondi’s decision to drop any investigation of Trump University, see www.washingtonpost.com/.... But based on some recent reporting by David Fahrenthold of the Washington Post, see www.washingtonpost.com/... it is now possible to connect the dots and draw some compelling inferences regarding the $25,000 illegal contribution that came while Ms. Bondi was running for re-election.
It is not, as generally reported in the media, primarily a tax or IRS violation, although violation there was, and the IRS fine assessed against the Trump Foundation is the part that is new. It is a potentially a bribery scandal. At the very least, it merits an immediate federal as well as state criminal investigation as to whether Donald J. Trump, Trump University, the Trump Foundation, and Ms. Bondi, committed the felony of bribery (or conspiracy to commit bribery) under federal or state law.
Here is what has been known for some time: In 2013, many Floridians had complained about being cheated by Trump University’s now well-known scam. The New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman (the “NYAG”) had already begun a fraud investigation against the “university,” and Ms. Bondi’s office (the “FLAG”) was considering whether to join in the NYAG investigation or start its own. At the very same time that these matters were under consideration for official action by the FLAG, Ms. Bondi reportedly phoned or otherwise contacted Mr. Trump and asked him for a contribution of $25,000 for her campaign. Within three days of public reporting that Trump University was under investigation, the Bondi PAC received a check for $25,000 from the Trump Foundation. See www.tampabay.com/... CNN reported that the first mention by a spokesperson to the press of a possible investigation preceded the donation by six days. See www.cnn.com/…
And, what do you know, the FLAG decided not to pursue an investigation of Trump University. This has reeked in the public nostrils for some time but came under scrutiny this election season — the Miami Herald’s headline on June 16, 2016, read “Donald Trump Buys Himself an Attorney General for $25,000.” www.miamiherald.com/… Its subhead read “After Bondi received illegal $25,000 contribution, attorney general’s office lost interest in Trump University.”
Of course, it is illegal for a charitable foundation to make political contributions. The Trump Foundation is a Sec. 501(c)(3) charitable foundation, from which political contributions are always illegal. That is the basis for the IRS fine of $2,500.
But what is far more important here, it is a felony to solicit or to pay or receive anything of value in exchange for official action or inaction; that is called “bribery.” It is the same crime, bribery, whether the perpetrator is on the paying end or the receiving end. If there were to be a federal bribery conviction, or state bribery conviction, against an individual, the maximum sentence is 10 or 15 years, respectively. If it appears there is probable cause to believe that Pam Bondi solicited, or Donald Trump made or caused to be made, a payment in exchange for Ms. Bondi deciding not to pursue an investigation of Trump University, quid pro quo, that would be prima facie bribery or at least support an indictment for bribery. It deserves investigation.
Here is what is new: Based on Mr. Fahrenthold’s reporting, there is strong reason to believe that the Trump Foundation, an entity that Donald Trump controls, went to considerable lengths to cover up the $25,000 payment. Mr. Fahrenthold reported that “the Trump Foundation did not notify the IRS of this political donation. Instead, the Trump Foundation listed a donation — also for $25,000 — to a Kansas charity with a name similar to that of Bondi's political group. In fact, the Trump Foundation had not given the Kansas charity any money.” Thus, the likely cover-up had two parts — the donation was diverted (washed?) through the Trump Foundation, which found a Kansas charity with a similar sounding name, and reported a donation to that Kansas charity — a donation that the Foundation never made.
While Mr. Trump almost never gives his money to charity, see www.washingtonpost.com/…, he frequently gives money to political campaigns. See www.npr.org/… He knows how to do that. If he wanted to donate $25,000 to Ms. Bondi’s PAC, and do so out in the open, he knew how to do so. instead, it appears from the evidence and reasonable inferences derived therefrom, that Mr. Trump and his affiliates may have gone through an amateurish double-cover-up — they violated the law by using the Trump Foundation to make the non-charitable political donation, and then put down another donation to a real charity, but never made the donation to that charity.
Mr. Trump’s denials certainly should not be taken at face value. Investigations by the FBI and Florida state prosecutors (special prosecutors if necessary) should be undertaken immediately to determine if there is reasonable cause to indict Mr. Trump or Ms. Bondi for bribery, and the Trump Foundation and Trump University for conspiracy to commit bribery. Mr. Trump should support, and advocate for, such an investigation. If he does not, the stench will hound Mr. Trump and his relatively inactive Trump Foundation for the rest of their days.