Trump Foundation was Never Certified to Receive Donations

by Kody Fairfield

Yet another awkward impropriety has appeared regarding Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and yet again it is in regards to his charity, The Donald J. Trump Foundation.

According to a report from the Washington Post, which cited the Attorney General of New York’s office, the foundation, based in New York, has never obtained its certification mandatory for them to solicit money from the general public in amounts over $25,000.

WaPo‘s report explains that if NY AG Eric Schneiderman finds that if the Trump Foundation did indeed obtain donations improperly, he could immediately shut down the charity’s ability to continuing receiving donations.

Tax filings from the last ten years show that the foundation did in fact receive over $25,000 from outside donations, and though the filings do not, on their own, prove solicitation under New York state law, there appears to be “strong evidence” that they would.

As an example, there were companies who owed Trump money, and instead of a personal check to Trump himself, the companies were instructed to give around $2.3 million to the foundation.

Then there was the website that the foundation set up to collect small dollar donations which were to be turned around and given back to veterans. This is a clear solicitation, and in total, the venture collected about $1.67 million dollars.

Many experts on charity law in New York seem to be taken aback by the news that the foundation never filed the paperwork. James Fishman, a professor at Pace University Law School, was quoted as saying, “He’s a billionaire who acts like a thousandaire.” He continued, “You wouldn’t expect somebody who’s supposed to be sophisticated, and brags about his business prowess, would run his foundation like this.”

It would sure seem that with this newest WaPo report, and the plethora of other suspicious activity that Trump and his foundation appear to be connected to, there are many questions to be asked. As of now, neither the Trump Campaign, nor the NY AG’s office have responded to WaPo‘s request for comment.

Story will be updated with new information should it be needed.

Related: New York Attorney General Investigating Donald J. Trump Foundation