Washington: New York state's top law enforcement official said Tuesday he has opened an investigation into the Donald J Trump Foundation, citing worries the Republican presidential nominee's charity has been involved in "impropriety."
"My interest in this issue really is in my capacity as regulator of non-profits in New York state," Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said.
"We have been concerned that the Trump Foundation has engaged in impropriety from that point of view," added Schneiderman, who has been at loggerheads with the bombastic billionaire for years over the Trump University real estate program, which he has called "straight up fraud."
The Trump Foundation has faced a series of damaging stories, including by The Washington Post, which reported over the weekend that the White House candidate himself had not donated to his own charity since 2008.
The Post also found other irregularities, including that Trump spent $20,000 of money that had been set aside for charitable purposes to purchase a six-foot painting of himself.
And in another move, the foundation made an illegal $25,000 donation to a campaign group affiliated with Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi in 2013 as she was considering joining Schneiderman's fraud case against Trump University.
"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," Schneiderman said.
"But we have been looking into the Trump Foundation to make sure it's complying with the laws governing charities in New York."
Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee issued an open letter asking US Attorney General Loretta Lynch to investigate the donation to Bondi.
"After receiving these funds, Mrs Bondi declined to further investigate Mr Trump's business interests. This fact pattern indicates that these payments may have influenced Mrs Bondi's official decision not to participate in litigation against Mr Trump," the letter read.
"A number of criminal statutes would appear to be implicated by this course of conduct."
Trump, in turn, has lashed out at Schneiderman personally for a lawsuit the state attorney general filed in 2013 against the real estate mogul over the now-defunct Trump University, calling him "Clockwork Eric."
"My interest in this issue really is in my capacity as regulator of non-profits in New York state," Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said.
"We have been concerned that the Trump Foundation has engaged in impropriety from that point of view," added Schneiderman, who has been at loggerheads with the bombastic billionaire for years over the Trump University real estate program, which he has called "straight up fraud."
The Post also found other irregularities, including that Trump spent $20,000 of money that had been set aside for charitable purposes to purchase a six-foot painting of himself.
Advertisement
"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," Schneiderman said.
Advertisement
Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee issued an open letter asking US Attorney General Loretta Lynch to investigate the donation to Bondi.
Advertisement
"A number of criminal statutes would appear to be implicated by this course of conduct."
Advertisement
COMMENTS
Advertisement
US Intelligence Officials Say Iran Responsible For Trump Campaign Hack Donald Trump Shows Doctored Pictures Showing Taylor Swift's Support AI News Sites Mimicking Media Outlets To Spew Fake News About US Polls Indian Airports, Borders On Alert As Global Mpox Cases Rise: 10 Points "My Intention Was To...": Sudha Murty Clarifies Raksha Bandhan Post UK Tech Tycoon Missing After Superyacht Sinks Off Sicily In Italy US Intelligence Officials Say Iran Responsible For Trump Campaign Hack Pakistan Ex-PM Imran Khan Applies To Be Oxford Chancellor From Jail LIVE: Democratic Convention Begins, Kamala Harris To Accept Nomination Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.