The U.S. House investigation of Donald Trump’s nefarious dealings with the government of Ukraine, leading to an official impeachment inquiry, cannot be counted among his happiest experiences as president. But he can be grateful for one thing: It has obliterated a scandal that might bury any other politician.
Last week, the Donald J. Trump Foundation entered into a settlement with the attorney general of New York that required Trump to pay a $2 million fine, close down the foundation and admit to illegal misuse of money. His charity was riddled with graft. To settle the case, he had to agree to never start another foundation without meeting strict conditions to block him from committing the misappropriation of more funds.
When then-New York Attorney General Barbara Underwood filed a lawsuit against the Trump Foundation last year, Trump called it “ridiculous” and tweeted, “I won’t settle this case!” After last week’s settlement, he lamely depicted his abuses as “small technical violations.” But the admissions he made in the settlement leave no doubt that he was responsible for what Underwood described as “a shocking pattern of illegality.”
He might have escaped this withering notice if he had not run for president and put his foundation in service of his campaign. Shortly before the 2016 Iowa caucuses, he withdrew from a Fox News Republican debate because he objected to Megyn Kelly’s inclusion as a panelist. Instead, he hosted an event to raise money for veterans and claimed to have raised more than $6 million — including his personal donation of $1 million.
It was a good way to justify ducking the debate, and it ensured him some favorable publicity. But it also earned him some unfavorable publicity. His foundation seemed to be in no rush to send much of the money to the groups that needed it. Several got nothing till April, after The Wall Street Journal began asking his campaign about the delay.
Other groups didn’t get their grants until May, after additional media scrutiny. He had to admit getting some $400,000 less than the $6 million he had claimed. And that $1 million Trump had pledged? He didn’t write the check until a Washington Post reporter went on Twitter to ask veterans groups if any had received personal donations from him.
This behavior makes perfect sense if you keep in mind that the Iowa fundraiser was to boost his candidacy on the eve of a major contest. Helping veterans was the pretext, not the priority. They were mostly props in his campaign.
As Trump was forced to admit in the settlement, his campaign “planned, organized and paid for the Iowa Fundraiser” and decided which organizations would get grants. Under federal law, though, charities are not allowed to participate in political campaigns.
Trump was not straitjacketed by the laws and customs governing foundations, or by the most basic ethical norms. He used money raised for charity to purchase a portrait of himself to hang at his Doral golf resort in Miami, to buy a football helmet signed by Tim Tebow and to pay off debts incurred by his businesses.
The foundation even made a $25,000 campaign contribution to Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, who soon after announced she would not pursue allegations of fraud against ... Trump University. In the settlement, remember, Trump admitted all these facts. He took money that donors had intended for charitable causes and used it to help himself as he saw fit.
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How could any foundation, even one started by Trump, conduct itself with such brazen disregard of the law? Easy: It was entirely under his avaricious, self-serving control. The board of directors included sons Don Jr. and Eric and daughter Ivanka.
It also included Trump Organization executive Allen Weisselberg — who, it came to light, didn’t even know he was on the board. Not that the membership mattered; the board managed to avoid meeting a single time in 19 years.
You can easily run afoul of the law if you don’t pay lawyers to guide you. Between 2001 and 2016, the Trump Foundation spent a grand total of $163 on legal fees. How much of a Manhattan attorney’s time do you think you can get for $163?
For years, Trump ran a foundation that relied mostly on contributions from others, which he used both to help win an election and to enrich himself. In any other president, that would be a shocking and possibly fatal scandal. For Trump? It’s just another day.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/colu...0191113-lltpp5bh4re2zhj4bu7qzo6jyq-story.html
Last week, the Donald J. Trump Foundation entered into a settlement with the attorney general of New York that required Trump to pay a $2 million fine, close down the foundation and admit to illegal misuse of money. His charity was riddled with graft. To settle the case, he had to agree to never start another foundation without meeting strict conditions to block him from committing the misappropriation of more funds.
When then-New York Attorney General Barbara Underwood filed a lawsuit against the Trump Foundation last year, Trump called it “ridiculous” and tweeted, “I won’t settle this case!” After last week’s settlement, he lamely depicted his abuses as “small technical violations.” But the admissions he made in the settlement leave no doubt that he was responsible for what Underwood described as “a shocking pattern of illegality.”
He might have escaped this withering notice if he had not run for president and put his foundation in service of his campaign. Shortly before the 2016 Iowa caucuses, he withdrew from a Fox News Republican debate because he objected to Megyn Kelly’s inclusion as a panelist. Instead, he hosted an event to raise money for veterans and claimed to have raised more than $6 million — including his personal donation of $1 million.
It was a good way to justify ducking the debate, and it ensured him some favorable publicity. But it also earned him some unfavorable publicity. His foundation seemed to be in no rush to send much of the money to the groups that needed it. Several got nothing till April, after The Wall Street Journal began asking his campaign about the delay.
Other groups didn’t get their grants until May, after additional media scrutiny. He had to admit getting some $400,000 less than the $6 million he had claimed. And that $1 million Trump had pledged? He didn’t write the check until a Washington Post reporter went on Twitter to ask veterans groups if any had received personal donations from him.
This behavior makes perfect sense if you keep in mind that the Iowa fundraiser was to boost his candidacy on the eve of a major contest. Helping veterans was the pretext, not the priority. They were mostly props in his campaign.
As Trump was forced to admit in the settlement, his campaign “planned, organized and paid for the Iowa Fundraiser” and decided which organizations would get grants. Under federal law, though, charities are not allowed to participate in political campaigns.
Trump was not straitjacketed by the laws and customs governing foundations, or by the most basic ethical norms. He used money raised for charity to purchase a portrait of himself to hang at his Doral golf resort in Miami, to buy a football helmet signed by Tim Tebow and to pay off debts incurred by his businesses.
The foundation even made a $25,000 campaign contribution to Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, who soon after announced she would not pursue allegations of fraud against ... Trump University. In the settlement, remember, Trump admitted all these facts. He took money that donors had intended for charitable causes and used it to help himself as he saw fit.
inRead invented by Teads
ADVERTISEMENT
How could any foundation, even one started by Trump, conduct itself with such brazen disregard of the law? Easy: It was entirely under his avaricious, self-serving control. The board of directors included sons Don Jr. and Eric and daughter Ivanka.
It also included Trump Organization executive Allen Weisselberg — who, it came to light, didn’t even know he was on the board. Not that the membership mattered; the board managed to avoid meeting a single time in 19 years.
You can easily run afoul of the law if you don’t pay lawyers to guide you. Between 2001 and 2016, the Trump Foundation spent a grand total of $163 on legal fees. How much of a Manhattan attorney’s time do you think you can get for $163?
For years, Trump ran a foundation that relied mostly on contributions from others, which he used both to help win an election and to enrich himself. In any other president, that would be a shocking and possibly fatal scandal. For Trump? It’s just another day.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/colu...0191113-lltpp5bh4re2zhj4bu7qzo6jyq-story.html
