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Edited by Mrph1 on Nov 30th 2023 at 11:03:59 AM
Good explainer from the NYT about the lawsuit.
The lawsuit follows years of scrutiny of President Trump’s charitable activities and adds to the president’s extensive legal challenges, amid a continuing investigation by special counsel Robert S. Mueller III.
What is the Trump Foundation?
Mr. Trump served as the foundation’s president from its start until Jan. 23, 2017, three days after he was inaugurated as president. Mr. Trump’s daughter Ivanka Trump also stepped down from her position on the foundation’s board of directors. His sons, Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr., are still members of the board.
Why is New York State investigating it?
Mr. Trump admitted to using the foundation’s money to contribute to political causes. He was also accused of diverting funds to settle disputes involving his businesses, failing to disburse funds to charities to which he said he had given large amounts of money, and publicly claiming credit for donating funds that had actually come from other groups.
After the election, Mr. Trump announced that he would dissolve the foundation to avoid any appearance of conflict of interest, a move the attorney general’s office said would require its approval, given the continuing investigation.
What are the accusations in the lawsuit?
According to the lawsuit, the Trump foundation’s board “knowingly permitted” it to be “co-opted by Mr. Trump’s presidential campaign.”
In January 2016, Mr. Trump hosted a nationally televised charity fund-raiser in Des Moines, Iowa, to raise funds for veterans’ organizations. The fund-raiser collected $5.6 million in donations, including $2.8 million directly to the Trump Foundation.
But the fund-raiser was planned, organized, financed and directed by campaign staff, according to the attorney general’s petition; and afterward, campaign staff took control of the funds, “directing the timing, amounts and recipients of the grants.”
The Trump Foundation also failed to disclose that it had donated $25,000 in 2013 to a candidate for Florida’s attorney general seat, in violation of law that prohibits private foundations from making political contributions.
“Repeated and willful self-dealing transactions”
Mr. Trump and the foundation were accused of a wide array of “self-dealing transactions,” or transactions that were designed to serve himself rather than the foundation’s intended beneficiaries.
Among those transactions were several payments of foundation funds to settle legal disputes involving Mr. Trump’s businesses, including a $100,000 payment in 2007 to settle claims against Mar-a-Lago and a $158,000 payment in 2012 to settle claims against the Trump National Golf Club.
The foundation also paid $5,000 in 2013 to a Washington, D.C., charitable organization to feature Trump International Hotels in its charity event programs, and $32,000 in 2015 to a land use organization to cover costs related to a Trump property.
In 2014, the foundation paid $10,000 to the Unicorn Children’s Foundation for a painting of Mr. Trump that hung at the Trump National Doral Miami golf resort.
“Failure to follow basic fiduciary obligations”
The suit accused the foundation of being “little more than an empty shell.” It has no employees, and the board has not met since 1999.
“In the absence of a functioning board,” the petition says, “Mr. Trump ran the Foundation according to his whim, rather than the law,” individually approving grants and disbursements with no oversight from board members.
What does this mean for Mr. Trump?
If successful, it would force Mr. Trump and the three children to pay $2.8 million in restitution and damages. It would also force Mr. Trump to repay the foundation for up to double the amount of benefits he obtained after July 1, 2014 — a sum of millions. And it would dissolve the Trump foundation and require it to cooperate with the attorney general’s office in disbursing any remaining funds it possesses.
(Mr. Trump had already announced his intention to dissolve the foundation, and he has already paid more than $330,000 in reimbursements and penalty taxes since 2016.)
The attorney general also sent referral letters to the Internal Revenue Service and the Federal Election Commission for possible further action.
It is unclear whether or how the suit could affect the investigation by Mr. Mueller into possible foreign interference in the 2016 election. Mr. Mueller is looking into a $150,000 payment made to the foundation by a Ukrainian steel magnate in exchange for a Trump appearance during the campaign.
edited 15th Jun '18 5:40:11 AM by megaeliz
Trump's rejecting the GOP immigration compromise. Also, taking kids from their parents is totally the Democrats' fault.
https://www.cnn.com/2018/06/15/politics/trump-immigration-compromise/index.html
Not surprising in the slightest, but still bad.
Politics is the skilled use of blunt objects.![]()
Somehow I don't think so. Too much big money in the form of tax cuts on offer for corporations and billionaires to not bail it out if required.
I was not aware that the Democrats had almost gone bust, why the hell are the parties allowed to take money from the campaigns of candidates still running in their primaries? That just seems like a recipe for corruption, whether it actually caused any or not.
Oh, and Trump was "only kidding" when he said that he wanted Americans to stand up straight up for him like North Koreans do for Kim.
https://www.cnn.com/2018/06/15/politics/trump-north-korea-kim-jong-un/index.html
Riiiiiiiiiiiiight.
Politics is the skilled use of blunt objects.Giuliani said the Mueller investigation should be suspended by the end of the day on Friday, and claimed that suspending the probe today would be Sessions and Rosenstein's last chance to "redeem themselves." Giuliani also called for Peter Strzok to be put in jail over a series of text messages sent between Strzok and fellow FBI agent Lisa Page during the 2016 election. "Mueller should be suspended and honest people should be brought in, impartial people to investigate these people like Strzok," Giuliani said. "Strzok should be in jail by the end of next week."
https://www.politico.com/story/2018/06/14/giuliani-mueller-russia-probe-suspended-647022
"Manafort pleads not guilty to witness-tampering charges, judge weighs revoking bail" - http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-russia-court/manafort-pleads-not-guilty-to-witness-tampering-charges-judge-weighs-revoking-bail-idUSKBN1JB21M
Cohen turning is a BIG deal. It could be the last thing Mueller needs to lay everything at Trump's feet.
"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"Dozens of Religious organizations, from the Catholic Church to Trump Aligned Evangelical Organizations, condemn the Trump administration's policy to separate families that come into America Illegally
. Even Franklin Graham, one of Trump's staunchest Evangelical Allies, condemns this act.
Perfect shot, Hillary.
@Trump vetoing his own party: That actually makes sense. Trump has no interest in legislation on ICE because that would mean actual regulations. He wants the ICE going cowboy. Heck, he probably wants Joe Arpaio to be ICE chief.
I mean, to go back to that discussion this thread was having on fascism, one thing that Trump's style shares with fascism is antinomianism: the rejection of rules for its own sake. It's the elevation of the Cowboy Cop to ideology; the idea that rules are for people with small hands, and that Real Men Get Shit Done without having to ask permission, listen to those people upstairs who don't know what's going on or worry about some whiny brat complaining that his rights were violated when you tortured a confession out of him.
Don't give him ideas about Arpaio!
They effectively sold whatever lingering respect I had for them when they supported Trump over Hillary because he is the embodiment of Mammon and she is an actual churchgoing woman. I'm surprised they've even bothered to show any sort of scruples and it is too late IMHO.
edited 15th Jun '18 8:58:04 AM by CharlesPhipps
Author of The Rules of Supervillainy, Cthulhu Armageddon, and United States of Monsters.He doesn't need our help getting crazy ideas like that. He gets all the stupid he can handle from Hannity and Fox & Friends.
![]()
The plight of the Evangelical Republican base is one of those things that I view with the absolute maximum level of schadenfreude that it is possible for a human being to experience. They've long shown their complete willingness to sacrifice their vaunted moral principles to get Republicans in power who represent the absolute opposite of what they claim to stand for. They deserve every damn thing they get.
"Family values" voters persistently elect people who spit on their Bible with every word and action. Screw them.
edited 15th Jun '18 9:00:16 AM by Fighteer
"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"Manafort's bail has been revoked and he is being sent to prison.
https://www.cnn.com/2018/06/15/politics/judge-sends-paul-manafort-to-jail-pending-trial/index.html
Wonder if he'll flip after he realizes that prison sucks?
Politics is the skilled use of blunt objects.Looks like Manafort is going to jail
(CNN). The judge revoked his bail due to the charges of witness tampering.
You sneaky ninja.
edited 15th Jun '18 9:01:37 AM by Fighteer
"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"Jefferson. Davis, that is.
And speaking of those religious leaders, the Catholic Bishop conference
is suggesting that priests excommunicate any Catholics who help separate immigrant children and incarcerate them. I doubt we'll see any equivalent strong stances from the Mormons or Southern Baptists.
Bishop Edward Weisenburger of Tucson, Ariz., made a bolder suggestion, raising the possibility of implementing canonical penalties for Catholics “who are involved in this,” referring to children being separated from their families at the border. Canonical penalties can range from denial of sacraments to excommunication, though Weisenburger did not specify what he intended beyond referring to sanctions that already exist for “life issues.”
“Canonical penalties are there in place to heal,” Weisenburger said. “And therefore, for the salvation of these people’s souls, maybe it’s time for us to look at canonical penalties.”

I expected JFK to turn out to have an illegitimate child, or Benjamin Franklin(besides the one we already know about) long before Warren "you don't even know who I am" Harding
On another note on the Britton affair, I wonder what her descendants must've thought about Boardwalk Empire and its portrayal of their ancestress(assuming any of them watched it) and more (in)famous ancestor
edited 15th Jun '18 5:34:02 AM by RJ-19-CLOVIS-93