New York AG Wants Trump Foundation To Open Books
For Donald Trump, the motto of when it rains it pours comes to mind.
The GOP candidate hasn’t really settled the latest “bump” in the road as the New York Times published an article regarding his 1995 tax return.
The campaign hasn’t really found a new message, or person to start a spat with, in order to keep people from talking about it. It looks like they won’t need to as another issue has cropped up. The office of New York attorney general Eric Schneiderman has sent a “notice of violation” and ordered it to stop accepting donations in the state.
“The Trump Foundation must immediately cease soliciting contributions or engaging in any other fund-raising activities in New York,” wrote James Sheehan, the chief of the charities bureau.
Now it seems that Schneiderman’s office isn’t through yet. The attorney general is also ordering that the Trump Foundation will need to submit all delinquent documents on years where the foundation raised over $25,000. The foundation has come under fire as of late as there are a lot of warning flags. The Washington Post reported that the Trump Foundation doesn’t have the required certification to solicit donations in New York. The New York Times also reported that Trump’s foundation doesn’t appear in many states.
There was also some issues as the GOP nominee had to pay a penalty to the IRS last month. The penalty came after Trump’s foundation gave a donation to Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi.
The Trump campaign has said all along that Schneiderman’s investigation is politically motivated. They stood by this statement when the letter was delivered.
“While we remain very concerned about the political motives behind A. G. Schneiderman’s investigation, the Foundation nevertheless intends to cooperate fully with the investigation,” Hope Hicks, Mr. Trump’s spokeswoman, said in a statement on Monday to the New York Times. “Because this is an ongoing legal matter, the Trump Foundation will not comment further at this time.”
As for Schneiderman’s office, it has also filed a separate suit against Trump over the aforementioned Trump University. The suit alleges that Trump defrauded students who participated in the for-profit school.
“I never even spoke to her about it at all. She’s a fine person. Never spoke to her about it. Never,” the GOP nominee told reporters back in September. “I’ve just known Pam Bondi for years. I have a lot of respect for her. I just have a lot of respect for her as a person. And she has done an amazing job as the attorney general of Florida.”
Editor’s note: an earlier version of the story incorrectly stated that Bondi did not pursue any legal action against Trump because of the donation. Bondi did not pursue legal action due to the fact that there was never an investigation done by the Florida Attorney General’s office and no recommendation by the staff to investigate or sue Trump University in 2013, the matter never rose to the Attorney General’s level for any decision.
