The Trump Organization has acknowledged that it erred in cutting a $25,000 check from the Donald J. Trump Foundation to a political fund supporting Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi (R) during her 2013 re-election campaign, and Trump has paid the foundation back plus a $2,500 fine to the IRS. This donation has prompted an inquiry from New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman (D). But new documents "at least partly undercut" the other allegation from this transaction, The New York Times reports, namely that Trump used the improper and misreported donation to convince Bondi not to join Schneiderman's fraud lawsuit against Trump University.
The timeline is as follows: Schneiderman announced his Trump U fraud suit on Aug. 25, 2013; a reporter for the Orlando Sentinel asked Bondi's communications director if Bondi was considering joining that suit on Aug. 29, setting off a flurry of internal emails; the Trump Foundation's check to Bondi is dated Sept. 9; the Sentinel reported that Bondi is considering joining the New York suit on Sept. 13; on Sept. 17, the check arrived at the political action committee in Tampa; and in mid-October, Bondi's office says it won't be suing Trump University. Bondi had solicited a donation from Trump "in late summer 2013," The Times reports.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Supreme Court to decide on mail-in ballot limitsSpeed Read The court will determine whether states can count mail-in ballots received after Election Day
-
Democrats split as Senate votes to end shutdownSpeed Read The proposed deal does not extend Affordable Care Act subsidies, the Democrats’ main demand
-
Political cartoons for November 11Cartoons Tuesday's political cartoons include GOP promises, a pardoned turkey, and stumping for Cop30
-
Supreme Court to decide on mail-in ballot limits
Speed Read The court will determine whether states can count mail-in ballots received after Election Day
-
Democrats split as Senate votes to end shutdown
Speed Read The proposed deal does not extend Affordable Care Act subsidies, the Democrats’ main demand
-
USDA orders states to ‘undo’ full SNAP paymentsSpeed Read The Trump administration is telling states not to pay full November food stamp benefits
-
Senate takes first step to end record shutdownSpeed Read Eight senators in the Democratic caucus voted with Republicans to advance legislation to reopen the government
-
Has Zohran Mamdani shown the Democrats how to win again?Today’s Big Question New York City mayoral election touted as victory for left-wing populists but moderate centrist wins elsewhere present more complex path for Democratic Party
-
Senate votes to kill Trump’s Brazil tariffSpeed Read Five Senate Republicans joined the Democrats in rebuking Trump’s import tax
-
Border Patrol gets scrutiny in court, gains power in ICESpeed Read Half of the new ICE directors are reportedly from DHS’s more aggressive Customs and Border Protection branch
-
Shutdown stalemate nears key pain pointsSpeed Read A federal employee union called for the Democrats to to stand down four weeks into the government standoff
