NY Attorney General Launches Investigation into Trump Foundation
New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman is investigating Donald Trump's foundation to see whether it's complying with the state's charity laws, according to Politico.
he Donald J. Trump Foundation is coming under increasing media pressure for misreporting a number of donations and using its money in a questionable fashion.
Schneiderman reportedly told CNN’s “The Lead” on Tuesday that his interest in Trump's foundation connects with his role "as regulator of nonprofits in New York state."
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"We have been concerned that the Trump Foundation may have engaged in some impropriety from that point of view,” Schneiderman reportedly said on CNN.
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“We’ve inquired into it and we’ve had correspondence with them. I didn’t make a big deal out of it or hold a press conference," he added. "We have been looking into the Trump Foundation to make sure it's complying with the laws governing charities in New York.”
WaPo published an investigative piece on the Trump Foundation just days ago that raised numerous questions about the suspicious activity of the foundation.
There were four phantom donations in the files of Donald Trump’s foundation. Here’s what we know.
Donald Trump's charity is not like other charities.
For one thing — as The Washington Post explained Sunday — the money in the Donald J. Trump Foundation does not come from Trump himself. Tax records show that Trump hasn't donated any money to his foundation since 2008. Instead, he has retooled his personal charity so that it gives away other people's money — although Trump has kept his name on the foundation, and atop its checks.
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For another, the Trump Foundation seems to have repeatedly defied the Internal Revenue Service rules that govern nonprofits. It gave a prohibited political gift to help Florida Attorney General Pamela Bondi (R). It appears to have bought items for Trump — including a $12,000 football helmet and a $20,000 portrait of Trump — despite IRS rules against "self-dealing" by charity leaders.
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And, in at least four cases, the Trump Foundation may have reported making a donation that didn't seem to exist.
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These four cases turned up in The Post's reporting, which looked at 24 years of tax filings and reached out to more than 200 people and groups listed in those filings as donors or recipients of gifts.
Trump has refused to release his tax returns which further raises questions about his shady dealings.