Donald Trump is notoriously cheap when it comes to spending his own money. Charitable pledges have nearly all been paid by the Trump Foundation, which includes very little, if any, of Trump’s own money. The Washington Post examined how his foundation operates:
For one thing, nearly all of its money comes from people other than Trump. In tax records, the last gift from Trump was in 2008. Since then, all of the donations have been other people’s money — an arrangement that experts say is almost unheard of for a family foundation.
Trump then takes that money and generally does with it as he pleases. In many cases, he passes it on to other charities, which often are under the impression that it is Trump’s own money.
In two cases, he has used money from his charity to buy himself a gift. In one of those cases — not previously reported — Trump spent $20,000 of money earmarked for charitable purposes to buy a six-foot-tall painting of himself.
Money from the Trump Foundation has also been used for political purposes, which is against the law. The Washington Post reported this month that Trump paid a penalty this year to the Internal Revenue Service for a 2013 donation in which the foundation gave $25,000 to a campaign group affiliated with Florida Attorney General Pamela Bondi (R).
He hadn’t contributed any money to his own charitable foundation since 2008! The richest cheapskate around. So, would a notorious cheapskate fork over his own money to pay off an alleged mistress in the final weeks of the 2016 presidential campaign?
According to a recent Wall Street Journal report, Michael Cohen, Trump’s personal attorney, created a secret company, Essential Consultants LLC, to pay $130,000 to adult film actress Stephanie Cliffords, who goes by the stage name “Stormy Daniels.” In return, Cliffords signed a nondisclosure agreement forbidding her from speaking about her alleged affair with Trump. Where did this money come from? Cheapskate Donald Trump? At least one organization is asking the Federal Elections Commission to investigate the payment:
Common Cause, based in Washington, D.C., said the payment, revealed in a Wall Street Journal report earlier this month, may have violated reporting requirements and exceeded contribution limits under the Federal Election Campaign Act.
The group asked the Justice Department to investigate whether President Trump may have violated a criminal law against making a false statement to the FEC by omitting the transaction from campaign filings.
The Journal reported that lawyer Michael Cohen arranged for the payment to Stephanie Clifford in return for signing a nondisclosure agreement that prevented her from publicly discussing an alleged sexual encounter with Mr. Trump, citing people familiar with the matter.
Another organization, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), noticed the Trump campaign transferred money regularly to Trump’s business, including a coincidental payment of $130,000.
This does not necessarily mean the money was a reimbursement for the hush money. The Trump campaign was regularly making large payments for “rent” to the Trump Organization. But it is definitely worth inquiring about because this amount was so specific: $130,000. That’s the same amount paid to Stephanie Cliffords.