David Fahrenthold at the Washington Post has been tirelessly combing through the records of the Trump Foundation, and what he’s found is Donald Trump’s private slush fund.
Despite the charitable label, the Trump Foundation wrote the $25,000 check to Florida AG Pam Bondi that came when the state was considering a suit against Trump University, it paid $12,000 for a Tim Tebow-signed football helmet that Trump took away from a charity auction, it paid $20,000 for a portrait of Trump, and $10,000 for another portrait of Trump. It also paid out $100,000 to defeat New York AG Eric Schneiderman when Schneiderman insisted on going forward with his case against Trump University.
And, as Fahrenthold detailed on Monday, Trump used the foundation to pay his own legal bills. Including, hilariously, paying a settlement to a golfer who scored a hole-in-one that should have been worth $1million, except that Trump rigged it so the contest was unwinnable. It’s a litany of greed, ego, and bending the law past its breaking point—it’s Trump in a nutshell.
And now the Trump campaign has issued a statement fighting back against the sewage-stream that’s pouring out of their own records. After a paragraph of look over there! The Clinton Foundation! Trump gets down to his defense.
In typical Washington Post fashion, they’ve gotten their facts wrong. …
There was no or could not be any intent for the Trump Foundation to make improper payments. All contributions were reported to the IRS, and all Foundation donations are publicly disclosed. Mr. Trump is generous both with his money and his time. He has provided millions of dollars to fund his foundation and a multitude of other charitable causes.
The Post’s reporting is peppered with inaccuracies and omissions from a biased reporter who is clearly intent on distracting attention away from the corrupt Clinton Foundation. ...
What’s missing from Trump statement? A single example of where Fahrenthold’s reporting has been inaccurate. Caught after the statement was issued, Mike Pence was asked for details.
Pressed to identify a specific “factual error” in a new Washington Post report on the Trump Foundation that the Trump campaign has claimed was “peppered with inaccuracies,” Indiana Gov. Mike Pence (R) came up short.
If the Trump campaign needs an “intent for the Trump Foundation to make improper payments,” here’s one—the Trump Foundation is filled with other people’s money. Donald Trump hasn’t made a contribution in almost a decade. His motivation for using the foundation to pay his bills is the same motivation that drives Donald Trump every day: pure greed.
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