New York Attorney General Somehow Under Impression Trump Foundation Might Be Kind Of Fishy

Nothing to see here, g'wan, get him outta here. Get him out!

Donald Trump, the most astonishingly ethically upstanding human being ever to run for president, is the subject of yet another investigation by a corrupt establishment figure who doesn't understand the complexities of being a great businessman. Which is to say that New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman has launched an investigation of the Trump Foundation, seeing as how it's his job to make sure charities -- even those run by great men -- actually operate within the law. See? Persecution! Schneiderman has been pursuing a fraud lawsuit against Trump University since 2013, and the new investigation into the Donald J. Trump Foundation involves the foundation's illegal payment to a political fund for Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi -- whose office dropped its investigation of Trump University four days later.

Schneiderman spoke about the investigation on CNN's "The Lead," explaining why on earth he might have the least bit of suspicion toward the dealings of a great man who has only a passing familiarity with either ethics or even reality:

“My interest in this issue really is in my capacity as regulator of nonprofits in New York state. And we have been concerned that the Trump Foundation may have engaged in some impropriety from that point of view,” Schneiderman told host Jake Tapper. “And we’ve inquired into it, and we’ve had correspondence with them. I didn’t make a big deal out of it or hold a press conference. We have been looking into the Trump Foundation to make sure it's complying with the laws governing charities in New York.”

We suppose little things like illegal campaign contributions from a charity -- which were then covered up in IRS tax filings -- might get an attorney general's attention. Plus stuff like the Trump Foundation spending $20,000 in donors' money on a six-foot portrait of Donald Trump, or $12,000 on a Tim Tebow f'ball jersey and helmet. Plus a bunch of IRS filings listing donations to groups that say they never received them.

In other words, a completely baseless political witch hunt, as a Trump spokesdrone explained:

Jason Miller, a senior communications adviser for the Trump campaign, called Schneiderman "a partisan hack who has turned a blind eye to the Clinton Foundation for years and has endorsed Hillary Clinton for president.

"This is nothing more than another left-wing hit job designed to distract from Crooked Hillary Clinton’s disastrous week," Miller said.

He communicates real good!

In a related development, Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee also sent a letter Tuesday to Attorney General Loretta Lynch, calling on her to look into the Trump Foundation's political donation to Bondi, even though Donald Trump has already paid an IRS fine and reimbursed the foundation for the $25K. How is that even fair? Bondi has said there was no quid pro quo, and shouldn't that be good enough? People are so distrustful these days.

The letter noted several criminal statutes that might have been broken if Bondi dropped the investigation of Trump University in exchange for the donation, and also noted how proud Donald Trump has always been of his ability to influence politicians with his cash:

We also note that this allegation -- that Mr. Trump bribed a Florida state official to protect his business interests -- is consistent with Mr. Trump’s own statements about using money to influence politics. In a 2015 interview with the Wall Street Journal, he justified his actions this way: “As a businessman and a very substantial donor to very important people, when you give, they do whatever the hell you want them to do.” [...] He was even more direct at campaign stop earlier this year: “I’ve given to everybody. Because that was my job. I gotta give to them . . . . Because when I want something, I get it. When I call, they kiss my ass.”

Yeah, but there they go believing something Donald Trump said. Maybe he was lying about all that, and telling the truth when he said he contributed to Bondi's campaign because he simply liked her politics. Yr Wonkette's sources at the Justice Department inform us this possibility will be investigated by the department's elite "when pigs fly" division.

[ Politico / H ouse Judiciary Committee Democrats ]