Archive for the ‘Donald Trump’ Category

The Real Story Behind the $25000 Trump Donation to Pam Bondi – The Daily Beast

It was the personally signed $25,000 check that landed then-presidential candidate Donald Trump in hot waterthe check that sparked accusations that he had bribed Floridas top prosecutor, Pam Bondi, with funds from his charity.

Much has been written about the suspicious timing of Trumps 2013 gift to the Florida attorney generals political campaign. But contrary to previous claims from Trumps presidential campaign and company executives, new records acquired by The Daily Beast show that Trump Organization employees were explicitly told this was a donation to a political group, and emails show that Trumps own executive assistant had met in person with Bondis finance director in New York City.

In its 2018 case against the Trump Foundation, the New York attorney general noted how Trump broke the law by using his charity to fund Bondis political group. And the charity was ultimately dissolved after a state judge found Trump had breached his fiduciary duty to the charity in other ways, behavior that the AGs office called a shocking pattern of illegality.

The donation occurred just as Bondi was supposed to be considering joining New Yorks investigation of the Trump University scam. And Trump himself got off easy. His campaign and foundation executives chalked it up to a mistake. The nonprofit didnt realize it was a political group, the campaign told The Wall Street Journal. An ignorant company clerk hadnt known, otherwise we would have taken it out of [Trumps] own personal account, Trump Organization Chief Financial Officer Allen Weisselberg told The Washington Post.

Former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi at the Republican convention in 2020.

Olivier Douliery/AFP via Getty

The conversation is laid out in an email exchanged on Aug. 28, 2013 between Bondi campaign finance director Deborah Ramsey Aleksander and Trumps long-serving executive assistant, Rhona Graff.

Aleksander provided Graff with the name and federal tax identification number for And Justice for All, a political action committee associated with Ms. Bondis re-election campaign. Aleksander described it as an ECO, which stands for Electioneering Communications Organization.

Again, it was a pleasure meeting you today!!! Thanks again for always being so responsive and wonderful to work with. Aleksander wrote to Graff. Let Mr. Trump know that we are SO VERY thankful for his commitment of 25k and If he wants to make it 50k, thats perfectly acceptable. 🙂 Seriously, thanks again for everything!!!

In a subsequent email sent exactly two weeks later on Sept. 11, 2013, Aleksander mentioned their previous meeting in New York City and provided Graff with a copy of And Justice for Alls Internal Revenue Service W-9 form, which lists the groups federal tax classification as a political organization.

Two days later, Trump sent Bondi the check with a signed letter that misspelled her name as Pam Biondi and read, Dear Pam: You are the greatest!

The signed check to the political group was issued from The Donald J. Trump Foundation, Inc., a tax-exempt nonprofit regulated by Section 501(c)(3) of U.S. tax codewhich prohibits political donations by charities.

The Daily Beast showed these documents to Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, a government watchdog group that filed the initial complaint that exposed this entire ordeal. Jordan Libowitz, the CREW communications director who led this project, called the emails a smoking gun.

It kind of blows up their whole story, Libowitz said. The Trump Organization staffers knew they were making this political donation. There are no questions about it. There is no ambiguity.

The Trump Organization did not respond to questions about the matter on Wednesday. Bondi, who is now listed as a partner at the Washington offices of the lobbying firm Ballard Partners, did not respond to a request for comment, neither did Aleksander, who lists herself as an independent fundraising consultant for Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL).

The emails obtained by The Daily Beast also cast doubt on another explanation given by the Trump Organization when this matter came under public scrutiny in 2016.

At the time, finance executives claimed that a series of blunders allowed the funds to be drawn from the Trump Foundation and led to the charity incorrectly identifying the recipient on annual tax forms submitted to the IRS.

According to the Trump Organization, a clerk erred by using an outdated list of charities to identify a non-political nonprofit in Utah also called And Justice for All. And staff made another mistake when they tallied up donations on the charitys 990 tax form and listed yet another nonprofit in Kansas called Justice for All.

I dont understand how you could be this sloppy, even for people working for Donald Trump.

Jordan Libowitz, communications director for Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington

But these emails show that Bondis campaign staff twice provided the Trump Organization the correct groups Federal Employer Identification Number, which does not match the Utah or Kansas nonprofits.

I dont understand how you could be this sloppy, even for people working for Donald Trump, Libowitz said.

The check was dated Sept. 9, 2013, nearly two weeks after Trump company staff were told that the group was related to electioneering. The check appeared to be cut two days before Bondis campaign sent over the IRS form, but it was still sent anyway.

The ordeal revealed how the Trump Foundation was essentially an empty vessel that relied entirely on the staff at the for-profit Trump Organization. To get answers about how the check was erroneously cut from the charity, for example, New York Attorney General investigators had to question Jeff McConney, a high-ranking accountant at the Trump Organization. During a confidential 2017 interview, McConney told an investigator he probably didn't know at that time that we probably shouldn't be using foundation funds for this type of thing.

We made a mistake, McConney said.

The emails between the Trump Organization and the Bondi campaign were obtained by The Daily Beast via a public records request to the New York Attorney General, which has conducted multiple investigations into Trump corporate entities over the years.

Under Eric T. Schneiderman in 2016, that office helped win a $25 million class action settlement from Trump University after the for-profit school was caught duping wannabe entrepreneurs and squeezing cash out of students seeking to learn Trumps art of the deal. Then, in 2018, under Barbara D. Underwood, the office got the Trump Foundation to dissolve itself in the aftermath of a fishy fundraiser for veterans that got caught holding back donations and supporting his own political campaign.

Now, in 2021, current Attorney General Letitia James has teamed up with the Manhattan district attorney to indict the Trump Organization and its CFO, Allen Weisselberg, for criminal tax fraud. That case is ongoing.

As for the check itself, Bondi reportedly tried to return the donationbut that was rejected. She never did investigate Trump University, and a local prosecutor in Florida cleared her of wrongdoing.

Months after she left office in 2019, she joined the Trump team fighting his impeachment.

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The Real Story Behind the $25000 Trump Donation to Pam Bondi - The Daily Beast

Donald Trump Jr accused an emotional Joe Biden of looking weak and it massively backfired – indy100

Yesterday, Joe Biden made a statement after terror attacks outside Kabul airport claimed around 90 lives.

The emotional president paid tribute to the at least 13 US troops who are believed to have been killed and said that he would continue evacuating people from the country. He added: We will not forgive. We will not forget. We will hunt you down and make you pay and asked people to join him in a minutes silence to remember the troops.

While it was a moving moment for some, one Donald Trump Jr decided to mock the president and took to Twitter to proclaim: This is what weakness looks like.

And unsurprisingly, people thought his comment was tasteless and profoundly ridiculous, and were quick to put him in his place:

Even his cousin, Mary Trump, had some stern words for Jr.

It is not the first time the former presidents sons coverage of the Afghanistan crisis has failed to hit the mark. Recently, he appeared to side with the Taliban when they were censored from Facebook though he was defending social media libertarianism rather than the actual Taliban.

Nevertheless, as he was roasted then, he was roasted now.

Oh dear, Donald Trump Jr. When will you learn?

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Donald Trump Jr accused an emotional Joe Biden of looking weak and it massively backfired - indy100

Jack Nicklaus on if Tiger Woods will play again, supporting Donald Trump and needing a cane – usatoday.com

I never got any blowback, and Im sure I had a ton of it, he said. But I dont pay attention to that stuff. I didnt see any of it.

Nicklaus said that Trump had Vice President Mike Pence make the ask.

Pence said the president knows youll do it, but he didnt feel right about it, Nicklaus said. I told him Id be delighted to write a letter. You have to stand up for what you believe in, and I think he did a really, really good job. Did he do it perfectly? Forget the way he talks, his personality. I thought he backed up what he said he would do.

Trump, he added, has been a friend for years, Ive built golf courses for him, and to support him was not difficult. Ive voted for Republicans and a ton of Democrats, too. I vote for the person and how they do. And Id write a letter for the right Democrat, too.

Nicklaus also was grateful to Trump, who had Mark Meadows, Trumps chief of staff, help get a provision written into the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (the Cares Act) that provided support for free-standing childrens hospitals that initially were not included in the bill.

He went to bat for us, Nicklaus said. There were 28 free-standing childrens hospitals, and they got $50 million apiece. They were losing money during COVID, and it really helped. I couldnt help but support the guy.

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Jack Nicklaus on if Tiger Woods will play again, supporting Donald Trump and needing a cane - usatoday.com

Donald Trump Jr. Once Again Objected to Men Showing Emotion After President Biden’s White House Address – Yahoo Entertainment

Donald Trump Jr. had some strong feelings after President Joe Bidens Thursday remarks on the Kabul airport bombing in Afghanistan, and his comments are evoking more sympathy than hed probably hoped. Biden spoke at the White House on Thursday evening in wake of the news that explosions at Hamid Karzai International Airport had killed at least 13 U.S. service members and 90 Afghans, and the President did not maintain the kind of stoicism Trump Jr. had apparently hoped for in wake of the news, opting instead to be open in his grief for the lives lost and referencing his own late son Beau Bidens service in Iraq as a reminder of how indelibly he feels the pain of military families grieving this loss. We are outraged as well as heartbroken, Biden said from the East Room. From wherever he was watching, Trump Jr. tweeted out a photo of the President hunched over, visibly distressed: This is what weakness looks like.

In his remarks, Biden acknowledged the grief of the moment while vowing retribution for the lives lost. To those who carried out this attack, as well as anyone who wishes America harm, know this: We will not forgive, he said. We will not forget. We will hunt you down and make you pay.

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But Bidens comment still were evidently not macho enough for Trump Jr., who also mocked Congressman Adam Schiff and Metropolitan police officer Michael Fanone for their emotional testimonies in July on their experiences of the Jan. 6 Capitol riots. Trump Jr. retweeted two videos of the men sharing their stories and becoming visibly upset, one captioned Rep. @AdamSchiff pretends to cry during 1/6 hearing and the other Wonder how many times he practiced this.

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Trump Jr.s comments here also bring to mind the negative right-wing response to a photo of President Joe Biden kissing adult son Hunter Biden that circulated in Oct. 2020, widely retweeted with former NYPD officer John Cardillos caption: Does this look like an appropriate father/son interaction to you?

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Like Trump Jr.s comments this week, Cardillos comments were met with swift backlash lamenting the inability of these two and their supporters to recognize the value in adult men openly expressing their emotions and allowing themselves to be vulnerable a trait many commenters attributed to Cardillo and Trump Jr.s own fathers not having set a good enough example for their sons.

Don Jr is what happens when you dont hug your kid once in a while, one retweet read. When you tell them to suck it up when they get hurt. When you teach them that the only goal in life is monetary. When you teach them winning is everything. When you basically void their life of empathy.

In the wake of this weeks events, we dont mind seeing a President who tells us its okay to grieve. With five kids of his own, Trump Jr. may want to consider carefully the message hes sending about who is and isnt allowed to be human.

Before you go, click here to see presidential families over the years.

Barack Obama, Michelle Obama, Malia Obama, Sasha Obama

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Donald Trump Jr. Once Again Objected to Men Showing Emotion After President Biden's White House Address - Yahoo Entertainment

Tiffany Trump Is the Only Adult Child of Donald Trump Not Being Investigated About January 6 – Yahoo Entertainment

The House of Representatives select committee is moving forward to seek answers in the Jan. 6 insurrection on Capitol Hill. They have already made their list of people from the Trump administration whom they would like to speak to and theres only one adult child from the Trump family who didnt make the list: Tiffany Trump.

That means that all documents and communications within the White House involving Donald Trump Jr. (and his girlfriend Kimberly Guilfoyle), Eric Trump and Ivanka Trump will be a part of the investigation, per Politico. For Tiffany, being an outsider in her family suddenly has its benefits. Its well-documented that the now 27-year-old was raised on the opposite coast of her half-siblings by her mother (and Donald Trumps second wife), Marla Maples.

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Maples has always said she raised her daughter as a single mother and that Donald had very little involvement with his youngest daughter. Her daddy is a good provider with education and such, but as far as time, it was just me, she explained to People. Her father wasnt able to be there with day-to-day skills as a parent. He loves his kids. Theres no doubt. But everything was a bit of a negotiation.

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Even though Tiffany moved back East to attend college and law school, her involvement with Donalds administration was limited to a few public appearances and some help on the campaign trail. In the end, this distance might save her from any possible legal trouble involving not only the insurrection, but the ongoing investigation into the Trump Organization. Tiffany has always downplayed any rumored tense relationship with her father. We see each other as much as possible and of course we speak on the phone, she shared with the media outlet. I think regardless of distance, I dont think that dictates any relationship strains.

But with the ongoing look into what happened on Jan. 6, Tiffany might be thanking her lucky stars that she stayed away from the family business. Because Ivanka, Donald Jr. and Eric will likely feel some heat regarding what they knew about the mental stability of Donald Trump or his fitness for office on that fateful day.

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Click here to see Melanias quotes about Donald Trump, from their marriage to the presidential race.

Donald Trump, Melania Trump

Launch Gallery: See Donald Trump & More of the Trump Family in This Photo Album

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Tiffany Trump Is the Only Adult Child of Donald Trump Not Being Investigated About January 6 - Yahoo Entertainment