Trump used $258,000 from his charity to settle legal problems

[CarlosAndSveta 808]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-used-258000-from-his-charity-to-settle-legal-problems/2016/09/20/adc88f9c-7d11-11e6-ac8e-cf8e0dd91dc7_story.html

Donald Trump spent more than a quarter-million dollars from his charitable foundation to settle lawsuits that involved the billionaire’s for-profit businesses, according to interviews and a review of legal documents.

Those cases, which together used $258,000 from Trump’s charity, were among four newly documented expenditures in which Trump may have violated laws against “self-dealing” — which prohibit nonprofit leaders from using charity money to benefit themselves or their businesses.

In one case, from 2007, Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Club faced $120,000 in unpaid fines from the town of Palm Beach, Fla., resulting from a dispute over the size of a flagpole.

In a settlement, Palm Beach agreed to waive those fines — if Trump’s club made a $100,000 donation to a specific charity for veterans. Instead, Trump sent a check from the Donald J. Trump Foundation, a charity funded almost entirely by other people’s money, according to tax records.

The check to charity from the Trump Foundation.

I wonder if the IRS is precluded by a statute of limitations from doing anything about this?

[Rob L 3,811]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-used-258000-from-his-charity-to-settle-legal-problems/2016/09/20/adc88f9c-7d11-11e6-ac8e-cf8e0dd91dc7_story.html

I wonder if the IRS is precluded by a statute of limitations from doing anything about this?

I don't know the Tax implications going back, but if the State of New York revokes their not for profit status that will create havoc with the IRS in proving their Tax Exempt status. I found this.

"Section 6531(2) of the tax code says the statute is six years commencing once the return is filed, or from the time you willfully failed to file a return"

but as they say "the statute never runs out for fraud" with the IRS

'I've never encountered anything so brazen': Report details 'shocking' new revelations about Trump Foundation

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Donald Trump. Joe Raedle/Getty Images

The Washington Post's David Fahrenthold on Tuesday published a series of stunning revelations about Donald Trump's charitable foundation, reporting that the Republican presidential nominee used money from the Trump Foundation to pay for various legal fees.

Trump has not made a single donation to his charity since 2008, and he used money from others in such instances, The Post found.

The cases, which together used $258,000 from the Trump Foundation, may have violated "self-dealing" laws that prohibit nonprofit leaders from using charity money for self-benefit or the benefit of their for-profit businesses, according to The Post.

"I represent 700 nonprofits a year, and I've never encountered anything so brazen," Jeffrey Tenenbaum, who advises charities at the Venable law firm in Washington, told The Post, later describing the details as "really shocking."

"If he's using other people's money — run through his foundation — to satisfy his personal obligations, then that's about as blatant an example of self-dealing [as] I've seen in a while," he continued.

Trump could be found in violation of self-dealing rules from the Internal Revenue Service, according to The Post, which could require him to pay penalties or reimburse the foundation's money. He is also facing scrutiny from the New York attorney general's office, which could find him in violation of the state's charity laws.

Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton's campaign fired off a response to the Post story soon after it was published.

"Clearly the Trump Foundation is as much a charitable organization as Trump University is an institute of higher education," Christina Reynolds, the campaign's deputy communications director, said in a statement. "Trump’s version of charity is taking money from others to settle his own legal issues and buy at least two pictures of himself, which experts say is a clear violation of laws governing charitable organizations."

"Once again, Trump has proven himself a fraud who believes the rules don't apply to him," she continued. "It's past time for him to release his tax returns to show whether his tax issues extend to his own personal finances."

Trump's campaign did not respond to a request for comment from The Post.

Here are some of the other revelations from Fahrenthold:

• Trump's Mar-a-Lago club in Florida faced $120,000 in unpaid fines from the town of Palm Beach stemming from a dispute over the size of a flagpole. The tallest a flagpole could be in Palm Beach was 42 feet, but Trump insisted on an 80-foot pole, claiming that "you don't need a permit to put up the American flag." The town agreed to waive the fines if Trump's club made a $100,000 donation to a specific veterans charity. But Trump instead sent a check from his foundation, Fahrenthold reported.
• Trump's New York golf courses agreed to settle a lawsuit by making a donation to the plaintiff's chosen charity, but the $158,000 donation was instead made by the Trump Foundation, according to The Post. The lawsuit was filed after a man, Martin Greenberg, hit a hole-in-one on the 13th hole at Trump's Westchester, New York, golf course during a charity tournament, briefly winning $1 million, which was taken away after it was revealed that the shot did not travel a required 150 yards. Trump's course allegedly made the hole too short.
• Trump spent $30,000 of foundation money on two portraits of himself.
• Trump spent $5,000 of foundation money to buy advertisements for his hotel chain.
• Trump spent $12,000 of foundation money to buy a football helmet signed by former NFL quarterback Tim Tebow.

[ready4ONE 5,400]

Darn it guys, this was all to Make America Great Again. Get with the program.

[floridadave 195]

They left out the $25,000 bribe/gift whatever that Trump to give to Florida's AG Pam Bondi's campaign.

Edited September 20, 2016 by floridadave

[ready4ONE 5,400]

They left out the $25,000 bribe/gift whatever that Trump to give to Florida's AG Pam Bondi's campaign.

That was to Make Florida Great Again.

[yuna628 9,676]

Was there Cheeto dust on the checks?

[Jacque67 7,328]

Trump's Doral

http://www.univision.com/univision-news/politics/how-i-found-trumps-controversial-10-000-portrait

[Rob L 3,811]

Trump's Doral

http://www.univision.com/univision-news/politics/how-i-found-trumps-controversial-10-000-portrait

Nice detective work

[Jacque67 7,328]

http://abc6onyourside.com/news/election/1-on-1-with-donald-trump

Reporter: Explain why you spent charity money for personal use.

Trump: The Foundation is really rare.

Wot?????? !!!!!

Edited September 22, 2016 by Jacque67

[floridadave 195]

Whether its campaign funds or charity funds, to him its viewed as other people's money to be used as he sees fit. Says he, "There's nothing like doing things with other people's money because it takes the risk -- you get a good chunk out of it and it takes the risk."

[Jacque67 7,328]

Whether its campaign funds or charity funds, to him its viewed as other people's money to be used as he sees fit. Says he, "There's nothing like doing things with other people's money because it takes the risk -- you get a good chunk out of it and it takes the risk."

He better get Conway to rephrase this word salad!!!!!

[Jacque67 7,328]

Im a New Yorker. Tried and true, born and bred. I remember when Donald Trump crawled out of the junk bond ooze of the early eighties and swaggered in his cheap suits and tragic combover through the Queens Midtown Tunnel and thought he could play with the big boys.

But, unlike the real big boys in this town, who proved themselves by doing good for their city and doing good for others, Donald Trump, from the very beginning, just wanted recognition. He was the worst of the 80s. He wanted limelight and a high profile but never had the substance or true contribution to society to back it up. He was never a great developer. He was a marketer. He was never a great builder. He was smoke and mirrors. What was clear in 1986 is clear 30 years later. He was never a part of what made New York great. He was what made a great city stumble.

Donald Trump has always been addicted to attentionpositive, negative, didnt make a difference. Thats especially clear in the birther episode; gleefully making his second series of dangerous remarks about Hillary Clinton getting shot; the campaign lying about his opponents record on childcare (crash course: She has a 40-year history on the subject, and the Trump organization doesnt offer it).

(NY observer)

http://observer.com/2016/09/trumps-brand-of-ugly-will-be-the-ruin-of-our-country/

Published by Don's SIL.

Mysterious. Wonder if he knows about it ????!!!!

[Jacque67 7,328]

Donald Trump's campaign isn't alone in patronizing his own businesses: taxpayers are indirectly doing so, too.

Federal Election Commission records show that the U.S. Secret Service has paid the Trump campaign about $1.6 million to cover the cost of flying its agents with the candidate on a plane owned and operated by one of his companies.

Story Continued Below

Its standard practice for the agency which is tasked with protecting presidential candidates as well as presidents and other federal officials to reimburse presidential campaigns for the cost of traveling with the candidates.

In fact, the Secret Service has reimbursed the Clinton campaign, too: $2.6 million so far this cycle.

The difference with Trump is that one of his companies, TAG Air, Inc., owns the plane, so the government is effectively paying him.

The Clinton campaign, by contrast, mostly has been chartering planes from a private company called Executive Fliteways in which the Clintons do not have any ownership interest.

The taxpayers are actually reimbursing Trump for the travel of the Secret Service agents," said Brett Kappel, a campaign finance lawyer at the law firm Akerman LLP. "It's just another example of how the Trump campaign has taken an unprecedentedly large amount of its money and spent it at Trump-owned facilities."

Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2016/09/donald-trump-secret-service-campaign-travel-payments-228553#ixzz4L26jNTAM

Follow us: @politico on Twitter | Politico on Facebook

[floridadave 195]

Donald Trump's campaign isn't alone in patronizing his own businesses: taxpayers are indirectly doing so, too.

Federal Election Commission records show that the U.S. Secret Service has paid the Trump campaign about $1.6 million to cover the cost of flying its agents with the candidate on a plane owned and operated by one of his companies.

Story Continued Below

Its standard practice for the agency which is tasked with protecting presidential candidates as well as presidents and other federal officials to reimburse presidential campaigns for the cost of traveling with the candidates.

In fact, the Secret Service has reimbursed the Clinton campaign, too: $2.6 million so far this cycle.

The difference with Trump is that one of his companies, TAG Air, Inc., owns the plane, so the government is effectively paying him.

The Clinton campaign, by contrast, mostly has been chartering planes from a private company called Executive Fliteways in which the Clintons do not have any ownership interest.

The taxpayers are actually reimbursing Trump for the travel of the Secret Service agents," said Brett Kappel, a campaign finance lawyer at the law firm Akerman LLP. "It's just another example of how the Trump campaign has taken an unprecedentedly large amount of its money and spent it at Trump-owned facilities."

Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2016/09/donald-trump-secret-service-campaign-travel-payments-228553#ixzz4L26jNTAM

Follow us: @politico on Twitter | Politico on Facebook

I think the Donald is drooling about the prospect of being elected and closing down gov't offices in Washington D.C. and then relocating them to Trump Tower to collect those rental fees. Cha-Ching.

[Jacque67 7,328]

I think the Donald is drooling about the prospect of being elected and closing down gov't offices in Washington D.C. and then relocating them to Trump Tower to collect those rental fees. Cha-Ching.

Ha ha!

This'll make you laugh

https://www.google.co.jp/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=2&ved=0ahUKEwjW5cSi7qTPAhUC6WMKHdifCQAQFggQMAE&url=http%3A%2F%2Fnypost.com%2F2004%2F11%2F12%2Ftrump-jr-is-the-cheapest-gazillionaire-heirhead-proposes-with-free-100g-ring%2F&usg=AFQjCNG8uxslL8MOOWducue1Q3eJd79h-w&sig2=sM740yvk4ARLgxXaNWpv2g