Trump Taking Personal Credit For Donations Made Using Foundation Money
Both The Washington Post and Fox News reported that Trump repeatedly claimed in public, beginning in 2015, to have made over “$102 million” in charitable donations “in the past five years”. The Trump Organization provided journalists with a 93-page list of the donations. None of the cash donations were confirmed to come from Trump himself many were actually grants from the Trump Foundation.
For example, Trump took personal credit and was honored for a Trump Foundation grant to the Palm Beach Police Foundation that was actually from an outside source . He had pledged the money personally, and then the Trump Foundation solicited the $150,000 earmarked for the police foundation from an unrelated philanthropic organization, the Charles Evans Foundation. The Trump Foundation then paid the Palm Beach charity. The police then honored Trump personally with its annual Palm Tree Award at Trump’s hotel at its annual fundraiser.The Washington Post wrote that “Trump had effectively turned the Evans Foundation’s gifts into his gifts, without adding any money of his own.”
The Dana-Farber Cancer Institute has honored Trump variously as “Grand Benefactor” and “Grand Honorary Chair” at its annual fundraisers held at Trump’s estate. Trump may have also earned more money on the event fees it received from the institute than the Trump Foundation paid to the institute in grants. Trump has directed at least $300,000 of grants of the Trump Foundation money to Dana-Farber since 2010.
Donation To Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi
In 2013, the Trump Foundation donated $25,000 in support of Florida attorney generalPam Bondi‘s election campaign while Bondi’s office was reviewing fraud allegations against Trump University, a for-profit real estate program. Around that time Trump also hosted a fundraiser for Bondi at his Mar-a-Lago resort at a fee well below his normal market rate. Bondi’s office later ended the investigation without bringing charges.
According to a Trump Foundation attorney, “the contribution was made in error due to a case of mistaken identity of organizations with the same name.” Trump later personally reimbursed his foundation for the $25,000. The foundation paid a $2,500 fine for violating IRS rules against political contributions by charitable organizations. In 2016 New York attorney general Eric Schneiderman said publicly that the Trump Foundation was the subject of an ongoing investigation by his office.
On October 5, 2016, The Wall Street Journal reported details of how Trump had on several other occasions since as early as the 1980s made campaign donations to various US state attorneys general while they had been reviewing cases involving the Trump Organization or Trump personally, although the Bondi case is the only one it cited as having involved Trump Foundation money.
Hes Charging The Secret Service For Anything He Can
One of the many privileges afforded to former presidents is free Secret Service protection for life. Trump has found a way to monetize this benefit: Hes been charging his security detail $396.15 per night for the space they use at Mar-a-Lago. This adds up fast from January 20 to April 30, the Secret Service spent over $40,000 at his Florida club. Of course, its you and I, the noble taxpayers, who are actually footing the bill and weve been doing it for some time. Trumps company charged the government at least $2.5 millionfor expenses accrued at his properties when he was president.
Also Check: Does Trump Donate To Charity
Grants To The National Museum Of Catholic Art And Library
In each of 1995 and 1999, the Trump Foundation granted $50,000 to the National Museum of Catholic Art and Library. A 2001 report by The Village Voice stated, after visiting the museum in East Harlem, that the facility had “next to no art” and no official connection to the Catholic church, despite a ten-year record of having solicited large-scale donations for its collection. The Voice and, later, The Washington Post, concluded that Trump may have directed the grants to the museum to curry favor with the museum’s then-chairman, Eddie Malloy, who was also head of the Building and Construction Trades Council of Greater New York. The council had worked on behalf of one of the unions of workers who worked on Trump construction projects.
Us House Judiciary Committee Investigations
On September 13, 2016, all fifteen Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee, then in the minority, sent a letter to Attorney GeneralLoretta Lynch requesting that the Justice Department launch a criminal investigation of Trump in connection with his foundation’s $25,000 grant to Pam Bondi’s campaign. The letter specifically cited possible violations of two anti-bribery laws.
On March 4, 2019, new House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler issued a subpoena to the Trump Foundation for copies of a broad range of documents it had previously delivered to Robert Mueller’s office or any other domestic law enforcement agency on or after November 8, 2016, the day of Trump’s election. The request specifically focused on domestic emoluments and contact with Russia-related entities or people.
Read Also: How Many Jobs Has President Trump Created
Trump And The Truth: His Charitable Giving
- Save Story
Save this story for later.
- Save Story
Save this story for later.
This essay is part of a series The New Yorker will be running through the election titled Trump and the Truth.
Donald Trump is a rich maneven if just how rich remains an open questionand he and his campaign have long insisted that he is also a very charitable fellow. Ive given millions away, Trump said in May. The sentiment was reiterated this week by Jason Miller, his campaign spokesperson. Mr. Trump is generous both with his money and with his time, Miller said, in a statement reacting to the latest Washington Post reporting on Trumps charitable foundation. He has provided millions of dollars to fund his Foundation and a multitude of other charitable causes.
How many millions of dollars? People around Trump have answered that question in a number of ways. A couple of weeks ago, Mike Pence, Trumps running mate, said that anyone who knows about Donald Trump and his career knows that this is a man whos given away tens of millions of dollars to charitable causes throughout his business life. In July, Trumps son Eric said his father had given away millions and millions and millions of dollars. Last year, on the same day that Trump officially launched his Presidential bid, his campaign provided a specific number: a summary of net worth document made public that day stated that Trump had given away $102 million between 2009 and 2014.
Rnc Defends Use Of Trumps Name In Its Fundraising
Former President Donald Trump addresses the Conservative Political Action Conference on Feb. 28 in Orlando, Fla.
- Print icon
- Resize icon
WASHINGTON The Republican National Committee is defending its right to use former President Donald Trumps name in fundraising appeals after he demanded they put an end to the practice.
In a Monday letter to Trump attorney Alex Cannon, RNC chief counsel J. Justin Riemer said the committee has every right to refer to public figures as it engages in core, First Amendment-protected political speech and said it will continue to do so in pursuit of these common goals.
But he maintained that Trump had also reaffirmed to the chair of the RNC, Ronna McDaniel, over the weekend that he approves of the RNCs current use of his name in fundraising and other materials, including for our upcoming donor retreat event at Palm Beach at which we look forward to him participating.
Trump responded to the letter with a statement that put that agreement in doubt. No more money for RINOS, or Republican in name only, he stated. They do nothing but hurt the Republican Party and our great voting base they will never lead us to Greatness. He instead again urged his supporters to send their contributions directly to his own Save America PAC by using his personal website, adding, We will bring it all back stronger than ever before!
Despite the letters, the RNC and others have continued to fundraise off of Trumps name.
Also Check: How To Send A Tweet To Donald Trump
Trump Campaign Refunds Millions To Donors Misled By Manipulative Fundraising Tactics
Nearly $13 million has been returned in 2021 to Trump donors who were tricked into paying recurring donations
In the first six months of 2021, former President Donald Trump and the Republican Party refunded approximately $12.8 million back to campaign donors who fell prey to aggressive and misleading fundraising tactics, per a New York Times report.
This payment is in addition to roughly $122 million the Trump campaign refunded to donors in 2020 for the same reasons.
Quite interesting that a politician would deceive their own supportersthat does not seem to be a logical path to loyalty
Michael Stamos
The campaign deployed the deceptive tactics in March 2020, quietly updating its online donation portal with a pre-checked option box signing supporters up for recurring donations rather than one-time payments. Later in June, another pre-checked option box appeared asking for more money in celebration of Trumps birthday.
Many donors did not realize they had to manually un-check each box in order to avoid payment, and unwittingly donated thousands in support of Trumps re-election. Among those deceived was a 63-year-old cancer patient who was tricked into paying over $3,000 after initially meaning to donate just $500, per the Times.
Following the FECs unanimous vote, its clear we should take action to ban this practice and ensure contributors are fully informed. This legislation will do just that, said U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar in a statement.
Donald Trumps Latest Money
Former president Donald Trump is always running several cash-generating schemes. Its as essential to his being as the uncanny swoop of orange hair. Plus, as Bloomberg notes, The Trump Organization has more than $590 million of debt coming due within the next four years with more than half personally guaranteed by Trump. So its no surprise that even though hes out of the White House, Trump is using his post-presidential clout to rake in the big bucks. Heres what hes got going.
You May Like: Was Melania Trump A Prostitute
The Latest List Of Pacs And Individuals Who Have Donated To Them
Donald Trump announced his reelection bid as soon as he took office four years ago and raised more than $1 billion in the 2020 cycle, according to OpenSecrets. This amount includes donations to his official campaign committee and outside groups such as single-candidate super PACs and hybrid PACs or Carey committees.
Intended Dissolution Of The Trump Foundation
In September and October 2016 there were several legal actions and complaints filed against the Trump Foundation. The former head of the Internal Revenue Service’s Office of Exempt Organizations Division Marc Owens told The Washington Post regarding the various allegations against the foundation: “This is so bizarre, this laundry list of issues … It’s the first time I’ve ever seen this, and I’ve been doing this for 25 years in the IRS, and 40 years total.”
In late December 2016, one month before his inauguration, Trump announced that he would dissolve the Trump Foundation to avoid “even the appearance of any conflict with role as President”. However, a spokesperson from the New York State attorney general’s office told The New York Times, the same month, that the foundation “cannot legally dissolve” until its current investigation is completed.
You May Like: How To Tweet Trump
How Refunds To Trump Donors Soared In 2020
Refunds are shown as the percentage of money received by each operation to date via WinRed and ActBlue.
Trump
Around March 2020, the pre-filled check box first appeared on Mr. Trumps online donation form.
Total online refunds in 2020, in millions
$122
Around March 2020, the pre-filled check box first appeared on Mr. Trumps online donation form.
Total online refunds in 2020, in millions
$122
Total online refunds in 2020, in millions
$122
Total online refunds in 2020,
in millions
Biden
Note: Donations and refunds to former President Donald J. Trump include those made via WinRed for the following organizations: Donald J. Trump for President, Inc., Trump Victory, Trump Make America Great Again Committee, Save America, and the Republican National Committee. Donations and refunds to President Biden include those made via ActBlue for the following groups: Biden for President, Biden Victory Fund, Biden Action Fund, Biden Fight Fund, and the Democratic National Committee.
Several bank representatives who fielded fraud claims directly from consumers estimated that WinRed cases, at their peak, represented as much as 1 to 3 percent of their workload. An executive for one of the nations larger credit-card issuers confirmed that WinRed at its height accounted for a similar percentage of its formal disputes.
That still amounts to about 200,000 disputed transactions that Mr. Miller said added up to $19.7 million.
Trump Lawyer’s Firm Steered Millions In Donations To Family Members Files Show
Documents obtained by the Guardian reveal Jay Sekulow approved plans to push people to give to his Christian nonprofit, which then paid big sums to his family
More than 15,000 Americans were losing their jobs each day in June 2009, as the US struggled to climb out of a painful recession following its worst financial crisis in decades.
But Jay Sekulow, who is now an attorney to Donald Trump, had a private jet to finance. His law firm was expecting a $3m payday. And six-figure contracts for members of his family needed to be taken care of.
Documents obtained by the Guardian show Sekulow that month approved plans to push poor and jobless people to donate money to his Christian nonprofit, which since 2000 has steered more than $60m to Sekulow, his family and their businesses.
Telemarketers for the nonprofit, Christian Advocates Serving Evangelism , were instructed in contracts signed by Sekulow to urge people who pleaded poverty or said they were out of work to dig deep for a sacrificial gift.
I can certainly understand how that would make it difficult for you to share a gift like that right now, they told retirees who said they were on fixed incomes and had no extra money before asking if they could spare even $20 within the next three weeks.
This is all highly unusual, and it gives an appearance of conflicts of interest that any nonprofit should want to avoid, said Daniel Borochoff, the president of CharityWatch, a Chicago-based group that monitors nonprofits.
Recommended Reading: How To Tweet Donald Trump
Office Of The Special Counsel Investigation
On April 9, 2018, The New York Times reported that the office of Special CounselRobert Mueller, as part of its larger investigation into Russian interference into the 2016 election, was investigating the Trump Foundation’s donation of $150,000 by Ukrainian billionaire Victor Pinchuk in 2015. The Times reported that Trump’s personal attorney, Michael Cohen, had solicited the donation from Pinchuk in return for Trump’s appearance in a 20-minute video conference with Pinchuk and others in Kyiv in September 2015, just a few months after Trump launched his presidential campaign. The investigation was part of a broader investigation into foreign influence into the campaign. Federal election law prohibits non-U.S. nationals from contributing to U.S. political campaigns.
