Donald Trump has reportedly used money from his charitable foundation to help himself, as detailed in an in-depth report from The Washington Post published Tuesday. The investigation, by Post reporter David A. Fahrenthold, revealed the Republican presidential candidate has spent an estimated $258,000 from the Donald J. Trump Foundation — a "charity funded almost entirely by other people's money" — to settle lawsuits involving his for-profit businesses, including one of his golf courses in New York and his Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach, Florida.
The Post said Trump's use of charity money may be in violation of a law that specifically prohibits "nonprofit leaders from using charity money to benefit themselves or their businesses." Jeffrey Tenenbaum, who advises charities at the Washington, D.C., law firm, Venable, called Trump's reported actions particularly "brazen" and "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," Tenenbaum said.
Subscribe to 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.
-
The Nutcracker: English National Ballet's reboot restores 'festive sparkle'The Week Recommends Long-overdue revamp of Tchaikovsky's ballet is 'fun, cohesive and astoundingly pretty'
-
Congress reaches spending deal to avert shutdownSpeed Read The bill would fund the government through March 14, 2025
-
Today's political cartoons - December 18, 2024Cartoons Wednesday's cartoons - thoughts and prayers, pound of flesh, and more
-
Judges block $25B Kroger-Albertsons mergerSpeed Read The proposed merger between the supermarket giants was stalled when judges overseeing two separate cases blocked the deal
-
Rupert Murdoch loses 'Succession' court battleSpeed Read Murdoch wanted to give full control of his empire to son Lachlan, ensuring Fox News' right-wing editorial slant
-
Bitcoin surges above $100k in post-election rallySpeed Read Investors are betting that the incoming Trump administration will embrace crypto
-
Enron mystery: 'sick joke' or serious revival?Speed Read 23 years after its bankruptcy filing, the Texas energy firm has announced its resurrection
-
US charges Indian tycoon with bribery, fraudSpeed Read Indian billionaire Gautam Adani has been indicted by US prosecutors for his role in a $265 million scheme to secure solar energy deals
-
Boeing machinists approve contract, end strikeSpeed Read The company's largest union approved the new contract offer, ending a seven-week strike
-
US economy still strong in final preelection reportSpeed Read It grew at a solid 2.8% annual rate from July through September
-
Boeing machinists reject deal, continue strikeSpeed Read The rejection came the same day Boeing reported a $6.2 billion quarterly loss
