Trump Foundation Is A Cesspool Of Violations

Now that the media is finally beginning to focus on the Trump Foundation, it is becoming clear that the non-profit continually flouts the laws relating to charities. Today the Times reports that the Trump Foundation did not register in states where the Foundation was raising money. The violations relate to the January fundraiser held for veterans which Trump used as an excuse to skip a Fox News debate. In that same fundraiser, Trump also promised to donate $1 million of his own money which he never did until he was shamed into it when media reports in May showed that no money from the fundraiser had been distributed at all. The violation the Times documents occurred because the Trump Foundation was soliciting funds from across the country. Forty states require a foundation to register with the state if you are soliciting donations from within that state. The Trump Foundation is not registered in 38 of those states. Yes, this is hardly a major violation, but it also shows the lack of attention to detail and the disregard for the law that permeates everything about Trump.

A more serious violation comes the Washington Post today which reports that Trump used over $250,000 of Trump Foundation money to settle suits against Trump’s for-profit businesses. In 2006, Trump got into a dispute when he installed an 80-foot flag pole at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. Town law restricted flagpole height to 42 feet. Needless to say, Trump ignored the town’s request to conform to its law and the town began to fine Trump $1,250 per day for the violation. Trump then sued the town in federal court and eventually the two side came to an agreement in which Trump would donate $100,000 to a veteran’s charity. Trump then fulfilled his part of the agreement by writing a check from the Trump Foundation. In 2010, a man thought he had won $1 million when he carded a hole-in-one at a charity event at a Trump golf course. But, in typical Trump fashion, the prize was not awarded because the rules stated the shot had to be over 150 yards. The hole that Trump was advertising the hole-in-one reward on was set up to be under 150 yards, providing Trump with a way to avoid the payout. The golfer sued and eventually settled with Trump for a $158,000 donation to the charity of his choice. Trump once again paid that with a check from the Trump Foundation.

Both of these cases are clear examples of self-dealing where Trump used foundation money to pay for settlements that were, in fact, Trump’s personal liability. This is clearly illegal and it will probably interest NY Attorney General Eric Schneiderman in his ongoing inquiry into the foundation. Another important point is that since 2008 the Trump Foundation has been entirely funded by people other than Trump – he has given no money to his own foundation since then. So the settlement that Trump made with the golfer that was his own personal liability was actually paid by using other people’s money.  I would also think that the Foundation’s payment would be considered a kind of “gift” to Trump in that it relieved him of his own personal obligation. That might also create a case for income tax evasion if he did not report that on his taxes which he refuses to release. Do I need to say how berserk the press would go if any of this had happened with Hillary Clinton and the Clinton Foundation.