The basket of deplorables? The trumps. All of them. Don senior, don junior, ivanka, eric and melania. A big giant basket of deplorable bad apples. Get them out of our White House. Now.
58
Shouldn't the essential question be the total of "misdirected" funds from inception of the foundation? Sensing that the Trump foundation was intentionally and knowingly engaged in fraudulent activity from the start, it seems kind of lame that the entire 10-year period allowed for assessment of tax--and penalties--isn't being considered. Disbursing the foundation's $1.7 million existing assets to real charities is merely the correct thing to do in the present. The $2 million penalty is far less than the total of "misdirected" disbursements.
23
"Misuse of Foundation"
The only charity here is the New York Times using this term. Let's call it what it is: criminal fraud.
51
Another felony bounces off the Teflon Don? Where is the IRS? Haven't they been auditing this buffoon for 4 years?
39
This "charity" was set up to give away Trump money -- allowing for very lax oversight. (Donald Jr, Eric, and Ivanka -- on a "board" that never met in decades?)
Gail Collins in a memorable column described the Trump Foundation as run by a team of gerbils.
Then Trump started taking other people's money --and just ran with it. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/how-donald-trump-retooled-his-charity-to-spend-other-peoples-money/2016/09/10/da8cce64-75df-11e6-8149-b8d05321db62_story.html
Kind of like the taxpayer money intended for the Ukraine's defense against Russia?
21
Trump's charity org was guilty but the NYT calls it Trump showing why they are gaining the reputation of being dishonest
6
Sleaziest family ever. Absolutely shameless.
41
Our President is a lying, scheming, heartless con man. He may very well win re-election. Let that soak in.
24
A trifecta! Yes, no, maybe?
Illegal doings by the Trump Foundation...
"Money from the Trump Foundation has also been used for political purposes, which is against the law. The Washington Post reported this month that Trump paid a penalty this year to the Internal Revenue Service for a 2013 donation in which the foundation gave $25,000 to a campaign group affiliated with Florida Attorney General Pamela Bondi (R)."
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/how-donald-trump-retooled-his-charity-to-spend-other-peoples-money/2016/09/10/da8cce64-75df-11e6-8149-b8d05321db62_story.html
Trump University connection?
There were questions at the time as to whether this contribution was linked to Bondi's decision NOT to sue Trump University on behalf of scammed Florida residents. Her decision not to came shortly before--or after?-- that donation.
Ukraine quid pro quo?
Recently Pam Bondi's name was floated again -- as a possible advisor to the White House on Trump's quid pro quo with the Ukraine.
Is that a trifecta? Or just consistent pattern of Trump putting his own interests above all others?
10
"Under its terms, Mr. Trump’s lawyers agreed to give the Trump Foundation’s remaining assets of $1.7 million to a group of charities that have no connection to the president or his family. They included the Children’s Aid Society, Citymeals on Wheels, the United Negro College Fund, the United Way of the National Capital Area and the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum...."
Now he'll tout those forced payments as "charitable donations"!!!
13
How can anyone today support this man, the President, who has been found guilty of stealing from a CHARITY? Are 35 % of voters completely stupid? Truly beyond understanding.
34
Why is this man not in jail???????
32
NYT, why do you keep using the word 'misuse'? This is about thievery and deceit, plain and simple. Why do you not use more straightforward words that indicate the reality of what happened here?
27
Why is this not the headline? POTUS foundation found to be utterly fraudulent, shut down and fined. That would be huge news with anyone else in office
30
Classy!
6
I cannot think of any other democratic country in the world today that has elected such a depraved fraud, liar and con-man as Trump. That says a lot about the quality of the US electorate.
28
I'm trying to get this straight...........so Trump (today on twitter) lied about lyijng to NY State regarding how his foundation was used ofr personal reasons? To put it another way, he lied about telling the truth. A real role model........or not.
12
You know; this is starting to smell like money laundering. Hmmm?
11
No big deal! He's a hero to millions who'll follow him like lemmings to the bitter end. It is all very simple, he is just an evil man that personifies all those evil followers who won't care if he massacres thousands on Fifth Ave. What a great rigged electoral system we have!
16
Stealing $2.8 million from vets to support your political campaign. Sounds like a high crime and misdemeanor to me. Let Lindsey defend stealing from our veterans. Btw. Why has this been removed from Top Stories so quickly?
23
Good luck getting that deadbeat to pay up.
9
This is the same exact lawsuit the accused (a lying, cheating, blowhard named Trump) publicly declared he’d never settle. Oops!
12
He won’t pay this. Watch.
You’d think that ONE of his kids would have put a stop to this. The whole lot of them are cons and grifters. They’d rather break the law than not. Simply hideous people.
21
It’s just one crooked scam after another with Donald Trump. Unfortunately tUS farmers and factory workers are slowly figuring out that he scammed them too! No restitution for them unfortunately. Trump will toss them out like garbage and spend the rest of his life hanging out with Saudi Kings and Russian Oligarchs. The worst US president ever in the history of our country.
21
As the election is coming, I wish the media would make it clear to Americans who support this depraved criminal that the draft-dodging Commander in Chief --who so loves the all the beautiful veterans like my father--stole $2.8M of charity money that he purportedly raised for veterans in a televised fundraiser.
See pages 17-18 of Judge Scarpulla's Order in 2018 in this case found here. https://ag.ny.gov/sites/default/files/trump_foundation.pdf
21
Why would any veteran with a brain and a heart continue to support the Trump criminal enterprise? This isn't shocking, but it is deplorable. What a despicable family. A pox on their hideous house and all who embrace it.
17
Most corrupt POTUS ever. Everyone thought he was a con man in the 80s and 90s yet a minority elected him POTUS. The stupidity of some is just amazing. PT Barnum would have been proud. Lock him up.
19
There is no bottom to their depths of depravity.
12
What a swindler is Trump, an opportunist all the way, misusing funds meant to do good to those in need...personally appropriated his own 'foundation's money. But then again, what else did you expect from an unscrupulous 'swine'?
12
And those "moderate" white voters will flock to vote for him again!
3
Boy, Roy Cohn taught Trump well on how to weaponize the legal system. This is the standard Trump playbook: bend or break the law, do it openly (or not - it doesn't really matter since he will not be held accountable in any substantive way), fight the charges in court and if he wins, great. And if he loses, pay a fine and move on to the next con.
How great is it to be Donald J. Trump? He is Teflon Don for sure. Will anything ever stick to this man?
7
The President is not a crook. Yea, I've been to this rodeo before.
4
It's laughable this his ADULT children will go to class to learn how not to be crooks.
12
Is this the same Trump who repeatedly called for investigations of the Clinton Foundation? Why aren't the Democrats using this?
25
And for all the people who still support this man??? Why in the world would you think he has your back or your best interests at heart?? Mystifying to me .. . .
17
These weren't small technical violations as Trump claims. Trump was milking his "charity" to pay his own debts. That's criminal behavior. He's getting off cheap at only having to pay money but not serving time for what amounts to embezzlement.
22
I was outraged when I read about the gold plated seatbelts in Trump’s helicopter before he was even elected, astonished that someone so Napoleonic could ever make it into the race. I couldn’t possibly have imagined the atrocities that lay ahead.
I should have buckled up (my standard issue Honda seatbelts) for this ride, despite the fact that it has become alarmingly clear that nothing can protect us from the impending crash that lies ahead of America.
15
In this settlement, Trump agrees that he may not hold an office, such as a member of any board, committee, etc., of any non-profit organization. Such as the Salvation Army.
Think about it. Trump serves us as president; however, he may not serve us as a member of the area Salvation Army, nor the Toys for Tots, Habitat for Humanity, and any of the local boards on which all of us are serving/have served. He is unqualified from doing so. He cannot be trusted. He had to abolish his Foundation and was fined $2 million for misusing the funds.
Unqualified to be on a local non-profit board, yet, serving us as president. Amazing. Scary.
23
One has to ask, if Trump really is a billionaire why would he need to steal from his own charity??
Perhaps his tax returns will reveal some interesting revelations contrary to his braggadocio about all his wealth. I’d also like to see his expense account audited.
24
If he needed to steal this money to pay his debts, he's clearly not the billionaire he claims to be.
22
@seltzerman I think he uses the foundation charity funds not his own money but donations to the foundation to avoid paying taxes. He is a very very sneaky and crafty to avoid paying any taxes that’s why we should see his past tax records. He and his family basically got off free just pay back what they took if it was any regular folk they will be in jail for stealing.
14
Just another item to add to the long list of crimes committed by the Trump family. "Moving" to Florida shouldn't help them stay out of prison once Trump is removed from office.
20
As a former board member and executive director of nonprofit organizations, I'm pleased to see that the settlement included sending the balance of the foundation's funds and the fine to some worthy nonprofits. But how a liar, cheat and fraud like Trump keeps avoiding jail time is terribly frustrating.
32
Did Trump donate to his own charitable foundation and take a tax deduction for it? If so did that money go to appropriate charitable use? If trump diverted it then taking the deduction was tax fraud and Trump should be prosecuted.
Perhaps the House Ways and Means Committee should investigate to see if Trumps tax returns were appropriately audited on this point.
23
Chump change, not enough to undo the damage or teach a lesson.
7
Trump is a cheat.
He cheated students in Trump University.
He cheated the charities he was supposed to be helping.
He cheated on his first wife.
He cheated on his second wife.
He cheated on his third wife with a porn star.
He cheats and then he lies, using twitter as his pulpit.
This man has no loyalty other than to himself- not to the constitution, not to country, not to those who voted for him.
He is a stain on our country that must be removed.
41
None of this matters to the cultists who attend his rallies. They don't even expect that he'll do anything that will actually improve their lives. They love him simply because he torments and abuses the people they hate.
27
The spokesman says the lawsuit was "politically motivated." Do they ever think that if trump just wouldn't break the law so much, he wouldn't be subject to all these lawsuits??
19
This is a massive failure of our justice system. It demonstrates yet again that there are different justice systems for the rich and politically influential. Not only did Trump and his children earn $800,000 from this massive fraud, were not punished civilly or criminally or jailed, they were not prohibited from operating new “charities” in the future. This was not even a slap in the wrist. If the judge approved this settlement s/he is also corrupt. Our justice system is shameful and actively works on behalf of the wealthy to assault the middle and working classes and keep them under control.
28
Remember this?
"I gave millions of dollars to DJT Foundation, raised or recieved millions more, ALL of which is given to charity, and media won't report!"
Random caps, lousy spelling, lies. He vowed to fight for his charity in court — and win!
Fraud. Sociopath. Grifter. Did I mention loser?
That's your "real" Donald Trump.
35
Make America Green Again. Donate to the Sierra Club
7
The Trumps have no shame. When this lawsuit started the President proclaime " I will never settle. I will fight this because this is fake news, a fraud, a witch hunt blah, blah, blah. And of course, as he has done hundreds of times before, he settles.Somuch for those powerful claims. He was stone cold guilty so he folded like a cheap suit. Part of the settlement was that he had to admit, in writing, of his guilt. But words are meaningless to this man. He is already starting the propaganda campaign of claiming these were only technical violations and this was a political attack on poor Donnie.
These were not mere technical violations. He used money that was given to help the poor and needy and used it for his campaign, to pay off personal debt, he used the money like a personal slush fund. Stealing money from a charity is the lowest form of human activity. And the MAGA crowd doesn't care a wit. He is my guy, he can shoot someone on fifth ave, I don't care. He can steal money from a charity, I don't care. Please Trump people, defend this despicable action of your hero.
18
Trumps's post conviction tweets denying he committed the crimes he had already admitted to in court is heinous. The judge should cite him for contempt of court and sentence him to a week in jail.
27
@Rocky . Without his phone.
6
what ... Trump is a grifter !!!! I'm not shocked he has been a fraud in all his business dealings.
12
Congratulations to the United Way, the United Negro College Fund, and the Holocaust Museum!
7
They raised 2.8 million but he was only fined 2 million, so he still made money on it. He should be in jail.
19
Trump's adult children will receive "training in order to ensure they do not engage in similar improprieties".
Translation: "training" instead of conviction to ensure they don't steal again. The swamp has been drained; it is now a cesspool.
22
@VMS
No the swamp has grown much deeper, threatening the entire country.
Drain Trump's Swamp.
6
Why are multiple misappropriations of charity funds and number of other violations not criminally indictable offences? Especially the crimes and misdemeanors before Trump was president, they should be.
And if the president can't be charged when in office, why can't he be impeached?
17
So, your President admits to what amounts to fraud, and the collective response of America, including this news outlet is “meh”. You deserve him.
11
Trump has said he is 'worth' 9 billion dollars.
This is a lie of course, but it's his golden word , so let's use it.
The average American is has a net worth of about $700,000.
That's about 13,000 times less.
Take that two million dollar punishing fine and divide it by 13,000 times.....and there you have the equivalent,,or what that dollar amount means to Donald J Trump.
Yep, ....$153.
Why should he care??? It's a joke. The fine should have been much , much more... (bigly more).
13
@J J Davies
The net worth of the average American is a lot less than $700,000 - probably less than $50,000. I saw an article recently that over 30% of America's did not have the money to pay an unexpected bill of $3,000 - say for medical care or something, and many not more than a few hundred dollars.
9
There should be criminal charges as well and his children should lose their White House positions. Really...imagine if this were the Clintons...Republicans, treat the Trump family the same way would treat Hillary, Bill and Chelsea.
19
Donald Trump has been a liar, a con man, a scam artist, a grifter for his entire life. He profited from 6 bankruptcies while bilking vendors and contractors out of hard earned compensation and he dodged the draft with fake Bone Spurs while impugning the service of hero’s such as John McCain, John Kerry, William McCraven, and others. He cheated repeatedly on his 3 wives, paid mistresses to conceal his adultery, and enlisted foreign countries to propagate lies to help him win past, and future, elections. He and his grifter children continue to profit as they sell the influence of the Presidency to the highest bidder, even if it costs the lives of innocent people (see Turkey, Ukraine, NRA). What a surprise that the Trump Foundation is a total fraud, just like the family that administers it. And what a surprise that this self proclaimed “really rich” con artist is so determined to hide his tax returns from public scrutiny. Hard to believe that almost half the country still supports Trump and his lies.
26
@Stu
Not so hard to believe- We've been cutting funds for education for years. We get what we pay for.
8
Trump stole $2.8 million he said he was raising for veterans. Don’t try this yourself because you’ll be reviled by the community and go to jail. Trump? He has to give a lot of the money back a keeps flying AF1 around.
16
Why didn't the State of New York prosecute this instance of tax evasion and by the Trump Crime Family? is New York happy to let criminals who are rich and white do whatever they want? It sure looks as if in New York State, there's a lenient justice system for rich, white men and another justice system for everyone else. Trump and his children should have been prosecuted, convicted, and imprisoned for this tax evasion and fraud years ago.
19
"Trump Ordered to Pay $2 Million to Charities for Misuse of Foundation"
This is why Mr. Trump is president today: major publications such as The NYT and Washington Post are either ignoring his fraudulent, corrupt, schemes or are using mild words such as "misuse" to describe them. Not a single harsh condemnation of this dishonorable, unscrupulous, man who has spent his life defrauding the system and robbing US taxpayers.
Even today I am still wondering why candidate Trump was not immediately arrested when he invited a hostile country to interfere in the US election, by publicly stating:
“Russia, if you're listening, I hope you're able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing.”
Wasn't that against the law of the land? What happened? Why the legal authorities decided to look away? No wonder a few days later he confidently stated:
"I could stand in the middle of 5th Avenue and shoot somebody and I wouldn't lose voters"
One thing is certain: if major publications such as The NYT and Washington Post had made it clear to the public that the call to Russia was not just a minor indiscretion but indeed a major transgression against the US legal system and had kept the pressure on, US legal authorities had no choice but to take action against Mr. Trump. And who knows how different things would be today.
16
Veterans out there - do you still support trump? He’s using your patriotism to fleece the country.
17
In the words of Nelson, the neighborhood bully on “The Simpson’s,” “Ha ha!”
1
Is this not an impeachable offense?
11
When will the check be cut?
Before or after the Mango Mussolini's tax returns are released?
Just wondering.
7
Lets get real, if a bookkeeper at Joe's Plumbing embezzled a $1000 he would be in jail, but Don, Ivanka, Erich and Don Jr. are not even barred from setting up another embezzling machine and looting it. //signed//a veteran
22
Trump is a man who:
• does not pay his taxes
• steals from charities
• golfs on taxpayers’ dime
• enriches himself while in office
• stiffs his hires from casino workers to personal lawyers
That’s why the Russo-Republicans love him — Trump is doing exactly how Putin is doing it.
And we all know how they love Putin.
Just ask Moscow Mitch and Leningrad Lindsey, two junior puppets who, like Trump, can never find the spine to go against Putin.
18
I want you to think about what Republicans would have said and done had President Obama or President H. Clinton pulled this illegal activity?Aren’t all campaign finance violations crimes? This is not a small technical violation. It’s worse than paying off porn stars. Trump scammed innocent people of money they thought was going to support Vets. VETERANS, for God’s sake! How can his minions sleep at night?
18
"Though the board was supposed to oversee the foundation’s expenditures, Mr. Trump admitted that it never met over a period of nearly two decades."
How could that be? Isn't there a governmental organization that is responsible for overseeing operations of charities and nonprofit groups in the United States?
10
I give a week before the Donald starts bragging about his new $1.7MM "donation" to "the best" charities. And his minions will ignore that the source was a fine for breaking the law by using his "charitable foundation" funds for personal/selfish/illegal purposes.
17
I love the expression on the face of the woman in the middle holding the giant check. She looks like she knows what’s really going on!
6
Any time someone misleads and misuses charitable contributions to only benefiting themselves be should a federal office, especially, ESPECIALLY when the intended party to receive said donations are U.S. veterans.
How insulting, selfish and arrogant to use these donations to "purchase a portrait of himself for one of his hotels."
That's low, even for Trump. And the fact that his children were also party to this scam and theft is reprehensible.
Just when I don't think this person could be any more rotten to the core . . .
10
The United States of America have reached the nadir of our history. Along with all the revelations of Trump's lies, cover-ups, and other scurrilous acts, now we have a President of the United States who has been compelled to settle a lawsuit over running a phony charity. A judge ordered him to pay $2.0 million to compensate for his wrongdoing. Perhaps the heinousness of this situation is obscured by all the other misdeeds of Trump. In my book, however, running a phony charity is morally-bankrupt and among the lowest acts a con man can commit. I am old enough to recall when this incident alone would have marked the end of an official's public life. Now it's just another episode in the on-going disgrace of our nation.
17
@KR As you imply, this newest Trump scandal is sadly the new "normal" in America.
3
Why just lawsuits? Where are the criminal charges? If I, you or anyone but the very rich were to solicit donations from the public for a charity to benefit veterans and then use that cash for personal gain, we'd be in jail. This isn't a "small technical violation". He ripped people off. It's fraud. It's theft. It's a crime.
16
@LCS I have thought similarly. If Trump was running a phony charity wouldn't there be fraudulent tax filings associated with such an action? Where does the IRS stand on this?
9
Thief, Liar Lock Him up. Please.
It was a significant victory that the prosecutors got Trump & Co to admit the exact violations. It is difficult to establish records like that, and he wealthy and well defended usually escape without attesting to specific wrong doings.
However it's an outrage that he gets to attack the courts and contradict that very admission in his tweets. This is one of those things where little people would be hauled back into Court to face the judge's wrath for deceiving the Court.
It's also stupid or desperate that he would risk everything for a petty amount of money - - - unless he really was that desperate. ( let's agree that he was and is)
Unfortunately, the world of fund raising is itself riddled with scams with so many ways to set up non-profits for personal purposes -- and not enough IRS agents to investigate.
Trump & Co should remember it was a technical violation - or several - that brought down another arrogant law breaker, Al Capone. But at least Capone didn't pretend he was running a charity to aid Veterans, only to rip off them and all contributors.
9
this 'punishment' is off by about three decimal places.
that and some actual prison time would be a reasonable start.
- - - adding the entire clan and enterprise for just-good-measure should automatically be included.
without-which, the concept of "trust" will continue to reside in some archaic bin from the long-long ago.
grrrrrrr
7
Here’s the deal. We, including his loyal MAGA family, will be paying for Trump’s abuse and exploitation of campaign finance laws. He will not pay a dime from his coffers, especially those entities losing money. Yet, everything is just hunky-dory with those very supporters whom he robs and manipulates not to mention those cowards in the Senate. How much more must this country endure from this corrupt, downright criminal in the disguise of a human being? Well, those of us who actually have brains can say with absolutely no paranoia that Mr. Trump is exploiting every single American for his own delusions of grandeur. He disgusts me.
8
@Kathy Lollock
And to add to the pain & suffering, we'll get to pay for the Secret Service "Protection" for him & his thug family after he leaves office.
It's as if we had the FBI protecting Capone's family.
That's "insult to injury"!
5
Isn't is amazing -- if Obama had ever done anything like this, or even one-tenth of one of the thousands of unethical, inappropriate, unprofessional, illegal things Trump has, Fox News and conservatives would have been all over him. The moral disgrace of Republicans and their leadership is astounding.
11
Define fake news as fake newsworthy and no abomination du jour ranks as newsworthy.
So he's correct.
1
The public is most deserving NYT to read a published copy of the settlement agreement and the accompanying court’s order entered in this repulsive, salacious case against a President of the United States and his adult children. If times were “normal” this gross impropriety and violation of law would be included as a separate article of impeachment against the inherently corrupt and criminal Trump. If he would commit charitable fraud, there really is nothing that this amoral individual would not do. What is his criminal tax exposure, on both a state and federal basis, as a result of his admitted fraud?
8
Crooked Donny. Lock him up.
What a chant that could be used. But, there appears to be a double standard when it comes Trump and his supporters.
This settlement only reinforces that Trump and his grown children are skilled carnival barkers and con artists.
4
Doesn't this litigation violate the basic Divine Right Immunity of the President as enunciated by Cipollone?
1
I just wonder if he’s got the $2 mil to cough up.
1
When asked to comment, Ivanka replied "I don't care. Do you?"
(Jared couldn't be reached, he's at a top secret location in the Middle East working on his peace plan.)
5
@telemachus sneezed
Wasn't that Melania Trump, traveling to one of the locations with separated children, wearing the"I don't really care, do you" jacket? cnn.com/2018/10/13/politics/melania-trump-jacket-i-really-dont-care-do-u/index.html
Thank you, maybe, for his reminder.
1
Stealing from Veterans is a fantastic way to celebrate them. I wish a moral compass mattered to the people who support this crook.
6
This crime family has no shame. Stealing from vets! No shame at all.
6
People go to jail for this kind of fraud.
6
@Frank
Or the "Pros" get elected....
2
"... numerous restrictions on Mr. Trump should he seek to establish another charitable organization"
Yeah I sorta doubt this will be a problem as the greediest family on planet earth isn't interested in starting any kind of legitimate charity to help those less fortunate.
The games they played with their "charity" are so pathetic it makes me sick.
5
@mark
'Yeah I sorta doubt this will be a problem as the greediest family on planet earth isn't interested in starting any kind of legitimate charity to help those less fortunate".
Once the cover for the Con has been blown, the Grifters move on to another town, another con.
I wonder what rock the Trumps will show up under next?
3
It was fake charity.
6
Remember how angry Republicans got about a welfare queen? Apparently they are okay with fraud and theft as long as it is a rich person or a republican is doing it.
8
Only $2 million? For sure, crooked Trump and his family stole tens of millions.
I
I'll bet that the $2 million is never paid.
5
The only beneficiary for the Trump Foundation is Donald Trump.
3
Oh, poor Trumpy. Always the victim of biased people who enforce laws. Let us lament the sad, sad fate of this much-put-upon billionaire, who really needed ten thousand dollars to buy a portrait of himself - something every Trump supporter can understand and sympathize with. When will this country come to its senses and accept the tenet that the Trumpster and his family hold dear above all else: law enforcement is only meant to affect stupid Democrats who pay taxes, not twittering, non-tax-paying, smart Republicans.
4
How and when and by whom will the judgment be paid? The judgment is just a piece of paper unless it's enforced. So who enforces it and when?
3
So he is a "billionare" that needs to take money from his "foundation" to pay his bills and for a crummy portrait. What a joke. IMPEACHMENT!!! How can anyone in their right mind vote for this huckster.
11
@Joanne Klein unfortunately, we all know the answer to that -- millions.
3
Since Trump is a known deadbeat -- avoiding paying his bills at any opportunity --, I sincerely hope this settlement includes procedures for 'extracting' the money owed rather than depend on the Trump organization to voluntarily pay as the judge ordered. Otherwise, those charities will NEVER see that money.
6
A thief is a thief is a thief.
11
How’s anyone who has ever had any connection to the military can excuse this is beyond me . As Daffy Duck would say spitingly “ Despicible “ .
4
How many different ways can you
spell C R O O K?
7
If you see a man in a $1000 suit walk by a Salvation Army red kettle, reach in, and take the money out of the kettle and stuff it in his pocket what would you think? What a low life, right? That is exactly what the Trump Org. did with their charity foundation. Under the guise of helping the needy these people used Charity money for themselves. The fact that this will be a two day story shows how used to the venal corruption of the Trumps has been normalized. These are depths we have been reduced to.
18
So Trump admits to being a crook, but the only ramification is a 2 million dollar fine. We have this crook in our WH. What does Lindsey Graham have to say about this court finding? The judge is in league with the Democrats? Come on. We have a criminal in the WH who is out to abuse our system of government and make money for himself. How much evidence do the Republican Senate members need?
6
I knew if I did that I would be in Jail. This sounds like out and out fraud.
11
So Trump stole from widows and orphans? To buy vanity portraits and red ball caps?
On Brand.
12
Why isn't this a felony? What about the tax implications? All the money he took from the charity is income he did not report. Just another reason to get those tax returns!
Training for the three children? More affluence justice. it is disgusting and we everyday law abiding middle class Americans are sick of it.
7
Small change compared to Trump's ongoing theft of the US Treasury.
6
How does a woman who gives her father's address to send her kids to a better school get 5 yrs jail time, while Mr. Con gets no time, or sometimes a small financial penalty compared to the fraud he commits?
14
President Trump's approach follows Robert Moses strategies closely. Moses got into trouble once he revealed his dark side to the New York Times owners. Until then the NYT had buried issues about Moses deep in the paper, as detailed in The Power Broker. Still only Nelson Rockefeller had the power to constrain Moses!
1
Stealing money from his own charity -- another thing Mr. Trump is incompetent at.
6
Another day, another fraud by the world's most fraudulent fraudster. The grifter who brags that he "never settles" a lawsuit seems to be settling a lot these days as the courts continue to punish him for his cons, and yet Republicans still support him. What will it take for them to realize that they have a bottom-feeder for a president?
9
Once a crook, always a crook. I am glad someone nit only caught up with him but made him pay. Now will he ante up?
1
I'm having a difficult time wrapping my head around the idea that the president of the United States is so crooked that he steals from CHARITIES!
9
This kind of white collar crime should carry some prison time. Trump's narcissistic perversion of charity violates public trust disproportionately to the token fine.
7
It is beyond my comprehension how anyone could support a person who would swindle from a charity. I doesn't get much lower than that. Sorry to say, it's hard to argue that such supporters aren't deploreables. If they can't find an honorable person to represent their point of view maybe there is something wrong with that point of view.
19
If I did something like that, I am absolutely certain I would be charged with felonious crimes, convicted of all the sordid and seamy charges, and sent to federal prison for an extended stay.
16
"Small technical violations". What this entire family of grifters calls theft.
22
The next excuse will be that he can't make payment until the IRS audit is completed
13
Trump is starting to make Pol Pot seem like a pretty decent guy.
7
So, our hero Donny has been found to have sticky fingers in those little hands! Shocker! What a miserable swindling fraud. Thats what this illustrious family has been for three generations. Thieves who steal from taxpayers and the gullible.
10
Chump change from a chump.
2
And his base still doesn't care. They would rather have a thug as president than share the nation with liberals.
12
Imagine if this was Hillary’s foundation...do we think this headline would be buried half way down the page and in small font.
Seriously NYT you’ve normalized his behavior so much that this
Is just another day at the office. Stay outraged.
15
A fake charity, set up to break the law on behalf of a real estate scam artist and his family. The perfect sum-up of this fake President,
10
"He faked a charity and stole money from vets!" "Yeah, but Hilary...!" "He went on TV and asked Russia and China to hack emails for the election!" "Yeah, but Obama....!" "He admitted he paid off a porn star to hush an affair!" "Yeah, but Pocahontas...!" Where do we go from here?
13
@Aaron
Aaron, sadly, we are at the bottom of the sewer. The Trump administration has stripped whatever pride we could ever have in our political system and it will take decades to wash the stink off our skin.
3
If all DC swamp pols were investigated they all would be paying same fines...SOP for DC pols...Oboma was also fined heavily but nobody cared!!! Hypocrites in action!
1
@chuck Citations are in order for your claim. Otherwise, you're just flinging mud and hoping it distracts.
4
@chuck
Oh, Chuck. Seriously? My father didn't accept that excuse from a kid (just because everyone else is doing it, it doesn't make it right) let alone an adult about someone who's supposed to be a leader. And, no, I don't believe all, or even many, politicians in D.C. are stealing from charities.
6
@chuck
No equivalency there, Chuck. Not even remotely.
3
If I started a fraudulent charity, bilked millions from unsuspecting do-gooders and was caught using that money to line my pockets and spend in defense counsel for other crimes, I think I'd get a stronger penalty than "return the money to charities and attend remedial training".
This crime family literally gets away with anything! The entire cabal must be removed immediately and face Real consequences for their multitudes of crimes.
10
Why hasn’t he been jailed for this felony? It is over 500.00 dollars . If that had been anyone else in our society for smaller amounts we would have been in jail for life. Lock the crook up.
8
@alanfeuer please report on when and where the $2 million is paid. Should have a count-up display on the home page of the paper to keep an eye on this.
6
Seems this was also a violation of campaign finance laws!
If a President should be impeached for lying about a consensual affair in the Oval Office, surely these crimes rise to a higher level. We'll see how all those Senators who were so self-righteous about Clinton behave now. They hypocrisy is nauseating and will not escape the attention of intelligent independent voters. Those who do not uphold their duty to defend the Constitution are - this is you, Mitch McConnell - also acting as willing, seditious Russian pawns. If you put party ahead of country history will judge you harshly: your shame will endure for generations and your family name will be forever besmirched. Is it worth it?
4
And the Republicans went after Hillary for her legitimate charity foundation. Surreal!
7
There is no vice or misdeed that cannot be attributed to this indecent human being. Its just a shame that we are all exposed to his indecency on a daily basis
6
What about his texts? I am sure there are millions of texts and emails instructing people to break laws in his behalf.
#ReleaseHisTexts
Just because it all happens in daylight doesn’t make any of it legal.
5
@Deirdre
No, I don't think so. A lifetime of grifting in New York has made him very careful not to leave records where he explicitly instructs people to break the law for him. He usually lets others define the quid and the quo, while he is off stage. His tweets are vile, and inflammatory, but he tends to avoid anything that would nail himself as the one who set up a crime.
2
How is this not campaign finance violation? He got off way too lightly as usual ... he is an embarrassment that only grows by the day.
4
Two million?? Really? Another definition of slap on the wrist.
4
@Linda Trout I suspect Trump will have difficulty coming up with $2 million cash - his "wealth" seems to be on paper, with no factual basis for paper claims. Next year we will see motions to enforce and motions for contempt for failure to pay this fine.
4
It breaks my heart when the polls show that the "veterans" support Trump even after his betrayals of Kurds, Ukraine, and ripping off the money that was supposed to go to military housing and schools to build that foul wall and cage kids.
Here, he used the vets to siphon off millions - and no one knows how many because he refuses to show his "proof", I guess, because there is no proof.
I just expected better from vets.
13
@rosa Any veteran who supports trump is completely lacking in self-esteem. Sad.
4
So what was the penalty? A weeks worth of Big Macs? Some penalty!
Get back to us when he pays it.....someone who would use a charity fund as a private checking account (anyone surprised?) also does not pay when ordered....besides he can't be indicted, remember? By the way, Trump voters this is your President, unfortunately for the time being all of ours, too.
7
Trump running a 'charity' would be sort of like a drug dealer offering to be caretaker of a children's playground. Yet somehow the myth that Trump was ever anything more than shameless self-promoter persists among maybe 1/4 of the electorate. Who wants to admit they voted for a sleaze king pretending to be a change agent?
Yet that is one area where he has excelled--'change'. To the long-term detriment of the country.
3
A charity with his name.
It's ludicrous on it's face.
I wouldn't trust him to water my plants while I was on vacation.
6
Trump's loyal Orcs see his dishonesty as a virtue to be emulated.
5
This is more of the same. We have been bludgeoned by Trump for so long by his atrocious behavior that this does not seem so bad. YES IT IS! This grift alone should be enough for impeachment. I hope my Senators in Idaho wake up today and say to themselves “ enough is enough”.
4
"Though he had admitted wrongdoing in court papers, Mr. Trump attacked what he described as “the political hacks in New York State” in a defiant statement posted on Twitter on Thursday night." Why does the NY Times post a link to Trump's disclaimer on Twitter without publishing the exact words he wrote on those court papers? Are we to take as gospel that he admitted wrongdoing, while he is free to deny that he ever wrote any such thing (or William Barr or Rudy Giuliani can "summarize" it for us)? Give us those words so we can distribute them widely and prominently.
8
@Ned Balzer
Agreed. I am surprised if he or his legal team don't get called back before the Judge, who should be furious that he made public denials refuting the in court admissions. In court matters you don't get to have it all ways.
The actual admission of fraud - the details that cite how and when the Trump Foundation lied to donors and recipients, and misused funds; as well, obviously, as to the government - are important. The decision must be public record...
6
This conduct, in and of itself, should be sufficient reason to never vote for this man. He is a grifter and is doing to our country what he did to this supposed charity, namely, robbing it blind. From requiring the DOJ to hold its annual Christmas party at his hotel, to requiring Pence to stay at one of his resorts even though it was hundreds of miles from Pence needed to be, to attempting to hold an international summit at his ragged resort, he has used the presidency to line his own pockets. And now, we are actually seeing his Republican cohort attempt to blame his subordinates for his reprehensible conduct in Ukraine. This must stop! What the GOP fails to understand is that their continues support of this criminal is guaranteeing its destruction. #anyonebuttrump2020!
6
Lindsey? Paging Sentor Lindsey Graham!
Would you like to comment sir, on Mr. Trump's court mandated admission to campaign fraud?
Was it a perfect charity?
9
How is this not a bigger story? "Trump Steals Money from Veterans Fundraiser to Pay Personal Debts." Come on Democrats, make some hay out of this.
9
For any other president, this story alone would have been the end -- and possibly an impeachable offense.
For Mr. Trump, this is just another day, another disgrace. Par for the course.
My, how far we've fallen.
11
Just a few weeks ago I had a name for him "Don the Con" and now it has been proven to been an honest name for this con man. His arrogance I guess is not shocking and he is not calling the Judge names or doing ugly posting on his twitter account . As a matter of fact, he was suffering from a case of loss of words. I know shocking isn't it. He was hoping no one would know.
1
Trump will deduct the $2 million on his taxes as a business expense. Yes, this would be improper. He will also find some source other than his own pocketbook to pay the fine. Probably some collection of rich donors. Two Sondland. Just watch.
5
The word is fraud, not misuse. There, fixed it for you.
8
I am so angry at the people who put this dishonest creep in office. sad for us, and the world. and more recently people have died because of him. He cares not.
4
How will our Supreme Leader get the US taxpayers to pay his fine?
3
Why is it that the money isn't going back to the poor donors whose gifts were grossly mishandled by trump?? Probably because there's no paper trail showing where the donations came from. Since there were no board meetings, therefore no minutes, I can only assume that they kept no records of where the money came from. Let's hope these donors vote this monster out of office in 2020.
11
And why is diverting money raised for a charity and spent on one's campaign not an illegal act that is met with punishment ? People running cancer scams are prosecuted all the time. I certainly hope someone is waiting with handcuffs at the end of his term in 2020......oh, but wait, that's why he had a campaign finance manager - to take the fall. He who is above the law and will be da__ certain those around him will take the heat so he can always says it wasn't him. He is beyond disgusting.
5
@JG Income was not reported and taxes were not paid. This is tax fraud, plain and simple.
3
Our so called President should have also been required to publicly admit his guilt on Twitter and apologize for his illegal behavior with no excuses. That would have been the ultimate fine for him and his phony charity! Instead he just continues his fraudster ways by saying the whole thing is a lie.
How can so many be duped by this blatant and unrepentant con man?
6
As I write, there are only 23 comments in this section. The problem was never “Trump”. Those of us who didn’t vote for this atrocity - who spoke out, who protested, who screamed- are victims; the rest, terrifyingly, are volunteers.
6
Once a lying grifter, always a lying grifter.
"Among Mr. Trump’s admissions in court papers: The charity gave his campaign complete control over disbursing the $2.8 million --
that the foundation had raised at a fund-raiser for veterans --
in Iowa in January 2016, only days before the state’s presidential nominating caucuses. The fund-raiser, he acknowledged, was in fact a campaign event."
Trump settled -- and then went on Twitter to lie about it.
Remember his claims about Trump University, attacks on the "Mexican judge" before the election -- and $25 million settlement after the election?
Scam charity. Scam "university." Scam presidency.
6
The slime level is beyond belief. Apparently in Trump world, all it takes for any action to be "politically motivated" is for it's initiator to be someone other than Trump and for it result to negatively affect Trump.
6
His misuse of the presidency has earned him far more than $2M, so what do you think he's learned from this escapade?
6
Would like a media outlet to publish the deposition/court transcripts where Trump actually admits to various wrongdoings. That will be the end of his claims of a Democratic conspiracy and political motivation.
3
“The check is in the mail“ and will never arrive.
4
Watching Trump at a rally the other night I realized that our government is in the hands of mud wrestling announcer / televangelist. Call and response.
What happens when a sleazy con-artist is running the show at the big top? Well, inevitably, after a while, the show goes out of business.
To that day.
6
I'm no lawyer, but why isn't this FRAUD?! seems a very light outcome for such dastardly deeds.
3
Well, it’s a lot less than he had to pay to make the lawsuits over his fraudulent “university” go away.
2
Why is this just a civil lawsuit? Isn't fraud a crime anymore or is the Trump crime family exempt?
6
Veterans should see this as a sign he uses them as nothing but a prop.
10
Any other president would have faced demands to resign. Why do 60% of us continue to accept this white-collar criminal and would-be mob boss as our leader? And this misuse of his so-called charitable foundation isn't the only issue on the resignation table. There is the impeachment inquiry. The anonymous warning book about to come out. There is the Mueller Report. And with all of these warning signals right in front of us, Americans and the media gawk and watch as each day brings new destruction to our country.
2
It just goes on and on and on.
3
And yet, despite this and the many, many other revelations about the slimy, grifting actions of Trump, Republicans and the millions of MAGA lemmings line up in lockstep behind him. Why anyone would follow this man is a mystery.
4
I think he got off easy. How do you quantify the erosion of trust from the public, not only in his foundation but the reputation of countless others?
2
"after the president admitted misusing money raised by the Donald J. Trump Foundation to promote his presidential bid, pay off business debts"
Trump committed crimes of tax fraud and a campaign violation. Both should be added to the articles of impeachment in the house. As the trials and conviction are already matters of public record, no further hearings are required that might slow impeachment on all the articles.
Why am I not reading about the discussion of articles of impeachment including the abuse of power in reallocating funds for the the wall and selling arms in the Middle East nor some of the items in the Mueller report that Mueller specifically referred to Congress to handle?
6
Grifters gonna grift.
1
I can't believe NY State let him off so easy with blatant admission that they broke the law.
If they didn't want to throw Trump in jail, what about the others namely the children?
7
I wish everyone would stop referring to the Trump foundation as a “charity.” It wasn’t. It was a business entity set up for use as a family slush fund to avoid paying income taxes for the Trump family grifters.
A two million dollar settlement is laughable. The family is basically finally contributing what they FALSELY claimed they paid in the past. And they’ll get a tax deduction! No damages. No penalties. In another year they’ll start all over again with the Trump Family Legal Fee Foundation that’ll hopefully be run from the slammer.
12
Meanwhile, the costs of keeping this child president costs the taxpayer hundreds of millions of dollars which are in no way audited nor controlled.
Why is it that some cruel portion of our United States enjoys seeing the dogs who are down kept down?
We won't stop fighting to prevent our deaths until the inevitable happens as it will to all.
3
Will the judge sanction Trump for releasing a statement last night that contradicted everything he agreed to in the consent order?
15
The Judge should have cited the fact that Mr. Trump's lone act of charity and compassion on record as President has been to throw paper towels at Puerto Rican storm victims.
9
Here, by way of comparison to Trump, is what another famous gangster once did.
https://www.history.com/news/al-capone-great-depression-soup-kitchen
2
What an extraordinary man our president is. Never in the history of our great nation has a man of his character risen so high, done so much, and never faced a criminal charge.
9
Ivanka, Donald Jr., and Eric Trump were court-ordered to undergo training on how not to defraud charities? Priceless! Some enterprising producer needs to turn that into a reality TV show.
17
@Anthony : I hope the producers of Saturday Night Live are reading the paper this morning for a terrific skit on this tomorrow night! I could almost write it myself!
4
Apparently he abused donor money raised for his own foundation in the same way he abuses taxpayer money raised for our nation. If he can buy a portrait of himself think of the glory he would feel in seeing the President Donald J. Trump Great America Wall.
Perhaps points of entry through the wall could be called the Ivanka Trump Gate, the Eric Trump Gate...well, you get the picture (and the bill).
2
1. Wouldn't this level of fraud, misrepresentation and financial dishonesty put most normal people in jail, or at least white collar club Fed ?
2. Who is the charity the 2 million will go to ? I'd be a lot happier if the Court, not the Sewer, dictate where that money goes.
3. Who has to do the collection work when that money is not paid, for "reasons".....
3
The more one reviews the daily evidence of don trump's malfeasance, immorality, and intellectual sloth, his ascendance to our country's presidency simply tells us we are a country in deep confusion on assessing the virtue of political leaders. Though in trump's case, there really is no excuse. We have known from the very beginning the low ethical and intellectual quality he possessed.
3
I’m confused. The court referred to illegality, Trump admitted to fraud. Why is this not a criminal process?
10
I'm cutting to the chase here: the man is evil personified. By now, we all know his modus operandi and we simply can't turn away.
His every action is self-promotion and seeking self-enrichment at taxpayer's expense. Need we really say more?
The Trump Removal roulette wheel keeps spinning. Will it be impeachment, the 25th Amendment, voter turnout in Nov. 2020, or age and attrition that relieves us of him?
3
who is going to watch to make sure he doesn't pay these fines or recompense himself from his huge campaign collections.?
3
When charities are founded to benefit white collar criminals , people lose faith in charitable donation only to find out their hard earned money is going to the pockets of CEOs or others involved in the administration of the foundation.
1
Recap:
Trump took the money people gave to veterans through this charity and used it to promote himself. Forget everything else Trumpian for a second. Trump should be polling at zero percent. Mind-blowing.
6
Money for veterans spent instead on a portrait of a heel-spurred self absorbed draft dodging self-promoter in chief. If veterans and their families want a better America they need tap into the courage they showed in serving their country and make an example of Mr. Trump by dumping him at the curb. Failure to do so tarnishes their sacrifices and those of their comrades who deserve the greater America Trump can never deliver.
3
When Pres. Trump agrees to a fact to get a something from the court and then publicly denies the fact, isn't he in contempt of court? Jail time?
Or maybe he could be sentenced to community service. You know, like ensuring that the laws be faithfully executed.
1
While it's good that the Trumps got slapped down on their scam, why didn't anyone face any jail time? I am certain that if some street conman pulled the same stunt he'd be behind bars for a while. Why does Don the Con get off with just a fine?
The best news is that he admitted wrongdoing. Now we just need to run ads on Fox News pulling quotes out of the court documents. His cult goes marching on.
3
His ethically challenged spokeswoman, Stephanie Grisham, will offer the official counter narrative. And the reaction from his cult will be their usual deny, defend and dismiss. However, this particularly immoral example of his MO of self-serving flouting of the norms of law, decency and respect should stand as proof that, indeed, Trump actually can "shoot someone in the middle of 5th Avenue and would not lose a vote."
3
Trump admits to “misconduct.” Isn’t that a sanitized characterization of his malfeasance. Basically, he acknowledges he took money from others under false pretenses (fraud.) And, admits that he, in effect, embezzled it for his own personal and political purposes.
We should describe his corrupt conduct in familiar criminal charge terms. The quid pro quo was bribery or extortion.
Just maybe if more easily understood criminal terms were used instead of “abuse of power,” which is correct but sounds more like a partisan claim, the number of Americans calling for impeachment would exponentially grow.
3
The self professed billionaire has to admit he literally stole from the collection plate. There is nothing else to be said.
3
This is the tip of the iceberg.
3
This is how trump supports America’s veterans?
He lies constantly in stating he’s done more for the military than any other president. Then he and his fellow republicans dare to besmirch the honorable reputations of Lt Col Vindman, Sen McCain, Gen Mattis et al.
Vote 2020 to make trump gone, bone spurs and alL.
6
DJT will not acknowledge his wrongdoing in violation of the nonprofit laws until he is indicted and charged for it. He has a criminal mindset. Would anyone else get away with this blatant conduct?
2
Wait a minute - the fine is coming from FOUNDATION FUNDS. How does that punish Mr. Trump? it's another sleazy win for him.
2
It's a badge of honor for him.
1
Trump raised money for veterans then used the funds to benefit himself. He dodged the draft citing debilitating bone spurs that subsequently vanished after the war ended. He attacked a gold star family in 2016 whose son paid the ultimate price defending our country. He repeatedly attacked an American war hero John McCain. Now he is attacking an active duty army officer and recipient of the Purple Heart Alexander Vindman.
Yet on Monday many of those who attend the Veterans Day gatherings across our country will proudly wear their red MAGA hats. Utterly baffling.
6
And a big thank you to the then acting NY State Attorney General, Barbara Underwood, for her efforts in this matter by bringing the Grifter - in -Chief to pay his fair share of taxes. His "small technical violations" are just the beginning of what awaits Trump when he is out of the White House. No wonder he moved his residence - for tax purposes- from New York State to Florida. There is no statute of limitations for NY State tax fraud prosecution.
5
Why is this not jail time-worthy behavior?
2
Never has there ever before been a more appropriate case for treble damages … plus punitive damages equal to the emotional damages trump has caused the citizens of the world … and reputational damages, in staggering amounts to be precisely determined, and paid to the U.S. Treasury (provided Mnuchin's hands be tied), for the utter disgrace of our country that trump has wrought.
1
It's unfortunate that as part of the settlement that the entire Trump family wasn't subject to a gag order. Trump has his Twitter bully pulpit as do his offspring to lie about the settlement and what it means. They'll be all over conservative media outlets talking about how they've been persecuted by the Democrats in the NY AG's office.
The NY AG isn't going to engage in a point/counterpoint with the Trumps and Trump voters will not take the time to read the settlement with is quite clear about The Trumps' fraudulent behavior.
The fraud involving the Siouxlands Soldiers, like the fraud Calif. congressman Duncan Hunter perpetrated against the Wounded Warriors project, leaves me shaking my head as to why Trump voters, especially members of the military, think that all Republicans are on their side.
2
That's not a huge investment for the returns he got from it. You know, helping buy a US Presidency and the personal brand exposure he values so much. Just a $2mil marketing cost that he gambled he might never have to pay for
3
The President of the United States, the Commander-in-Chief, caught stealing funds that he specifically, with photo-op, raised for our Veteran's.
I can't wait to hear the GOP defense of this one.
2
So the Trump kids were involved too. If someone steals 100$ from a convenience store they go to jail. The Trumps steal millions and they pay a fine.
2
"Misused the money??" Really?? And an eventual fine for less than was misused? I would have thought felony fraud, embezzlement or outright theft would have been more accurate depending on the evidence which was clearly in plain sight. Although it also included election finance violations but they can be passed over because there are no teeth in the FEC or their penalties.
Essentially, he could fleece an old man of his savings, be fined less money than he used the money to buy cars for himself and then pay back less than he stole but he could keep the cars. And clearly after Trump University, he could have already proven this is a common pattern of this character.
So if you steal big enough and publicly enough you get a slap on the wrist.
Got it!
2
Hey, what about the Clinton Foundation? Trump may be corrupt, but what about (fill in the blank). Except,...the other foundations have not been found guilty of any mishandling of funds. In this one Trump is all alone, the "winner."
2
Sorry, I misread- this was sarcasm. We agree, thanks.
This guy is kicking off the NY Veterans’ Day Parade? After
1) Stealing foundation funds meant for veterans
2) Trying to raid the military budget, endangering troop safety, to build his wall
3) Saying US troops “ Don’t fight to win”
4) Insulting a Gold Star family
5) Gaining five suspicious deferments for “ Bone spurs”
6) Betraying the Kurds and once again helping Russia with a US troop pullout in Syria.
I will be there, booing him, as per my patriotic duty.
8
As a veteran, I am appalled that (1) This actually happened, and (2) It is not getting more attention.
Truly ashamed of who we have put in the White House.
7
Even when he is robbing vets and those who would support them, trump minions insist this is a politically motivated attack.
We have fallen too low ever to recover
1
Yet another instance of Trump's neverending corruption that would sink any other president or presidential candidate in any other era. But we live in the Era of Trump, a Bizarro world where up is down, "alternative" facts reign and truth isn't truth. This latest story will of course lose its significance in an hour or two when the next Trump outrage is revealed. Then again, are any of these outrages anymore since everything the criminal traitor does is so normalized? I guess we'll find out in 2020.
2
The punishment is laudable; its terms, laughable. Anyone who thinks any member of this deplorable group of criminals will undergo any kind of “training” hasn’t been paying much attention to the fact that every member of the Trump family refuses to acknowledge that rules, particularly rules of law, apply to them.
Sadly, it’s gotten to the point that the Trump lawyers can’t be trusted either. Nice show by the judge though.
1
Since Mr Trump and the Foundation have publicly disavowed the settlement agreement, I don’t understand why the court doesn’t void the settlement and start over.
Mr Trump seems, as usual, to mock and delegitimize our judicial system while using it to his advantage.
Shame on Mr Trump and shame on the judges and lawyers that allow this mockery of America.
3
His enablers are happy to support him, to buy him whatever he wants.
1
"Misuse of Foundation"?
Give me a break, it was just outright flagrant theft. Criminal conduct.
2
Trump's "charity gave his campaign complete control over disbursing the $2.8 million that the foundation had raised at a fund-raiser for veterans in Iowa in January 2016, only days before the state’s presidential nominating caucuses. The fund-raiser, he acknowledged, was in fact a campaign event"
Trump diverted the money raised for Veterans to his own political campaign instead?
Is there a more disgusting excuse for a human being on this planet?
Impeach.
Convict.
Lock him up.
6
Unfortunately, I read the long, depraved lies Trump wrote yesterday about the NY AG concerning this settlement that he proudly posted on twitter. He turned himself into a victim and roused the Red Hats in his base.
If Letitia James did not have a standard provision in the settlement agreement voiding the settlement if he tweets or says anything publicly about the case that it not approved, then she needs to do that for all other cases. I have little doubt we will see tax, bank and insurance fraud suits against the Con Man in Chief.
2
...“a shocking pattern of illegality”
Does that mean we can look forward to criminal charges being filed? Against anyone? Ever? Please NYAG, please say yes.
4
Sooner or later he’ll spin this as an “incredible” donation of $2,000,000.
3
@Bronx Jon . And tax-deductible too
1
Unsurprising. But we all should be aware that his base does not care. Or more likely they will not believe it.
I am a librarian in rural Virginia. Literally an hour after this news came out yesterday, a man came in to request a 2009 book called "Obama, Culture of Corruption, his Team of Crooks and Cronies".
3
He should have been fined $10m and required to issue a public apology to those who contributed to the veterans' charity and to veterans.
This baloney about how glad he is to "donate" now is beyond the pale. He is not donating, he is paying a (far too small) fine.
3
He’ll appeal this all the way to the Supreme Court if he could because his charity is “prefect” just like Trump University.
3
As a reminder, Trump doesn't pay his bills. Hold him in contempt (he is quite contemptible)
2
The heartbreaking face of the woman in the center holding the check says it all. She must have known this whole display of charity was just a hoax, but was somehow forced to play along with this sham. That is the face of pain and misery.
3
I don’t understand, how is Trump’s charity scam not an impeachable crime? Or arguably make that three crimes: 1) violation of campaign finance laws; 2) tax fraud; 3) wire fraud.
This reawakens a similar question, where did all that money donated to his inaugural committee go?
Finally, it’s probably futile but nonetheless worthwhile to state my belief that scamming a charity like Trump did is indefensibly sleazy. What kind of a person plots and carries out charity scam? Ick. I need to go wash now.
3
Pretty sure that if I did this, I would be sent to prison. Why isn’t trump?
2
After being directed to disperse the Trump Foundation funds to several charitable organizations, trump's lawyer characterized the action: the 'Trump Foundation is proud to make this additional contribution.'
trump's indescribably miserly scam is thus pr'd into altruism. What an obnoxious family.
2
Well, now we know Trump definitely considers his royal personage a charitable cause, but, really, here we go again. Trump has personally faced over 3,500 lawsuits. He has now settled over 100 of them, paying out literally over a hundred million dollars and gotten off scot free -- which, by the way, he pays with borrowed money, so what does he care!? He doesn't. Many of these settlements are outright criminal fraud and even assault that would have gotten even a moderately wealthy man put in jail. I am so sick of these super-rich perverts and scofflaws escaping justice in this way. He needs to go to jail, like any common criminal, not get off with yet another settlement that just makes lawyers wealthy and does very little for the victims.
4
Why is this not the lead story? It says everything there is to be said about the kind of people Donald Trump and his family are. They are in it for themselves 100%.
3
Readers of this article are going to miss Trump’s purpose in having a “charitable foundation”: tax evasion, and later, tax evasion and campaign finance law evasion.
Now that the foundation is an admitted sham, tax evasion charges will follow like morning follows night.
5
Trump can’t properly manage a nonprofit Foundation. He used it as a personal bank account. He filed bankruptcy four times. Trump University was evidently a fraud. A the list goes on.
Why would anyone think he’d be responsible managing America?
3
This is our president. Here he is in all his great wisdom and stable genius glory, caught stealing money from his own charity that people donated to go to those less fortunate. His charity was all just a planned money making and tax evasion scheme from the start. It was surely one of those things that made him feel like such a clever business man— he fools people, cheats, lies, and pockets extra money for himself along the way. And he can “donate” to his own “charity” (which he did) and deduct it on his taxes and still simply use the money on himself. So much winning for Donald J. Trump!
Now that he has been officially caught and reprimanded he whines about how unfair everyone is to him. This sorry excuse of a man is our president.
2
what type of low life scams people for donations to help veterans then uses it to payoff his debt?
oh, right. the president.
3
Why does Trump always get off easy.
The settlement reached in the scam Trump university case didn’t come near to how much money he got from the people he scammed
3
The most amazing part of the story is that it is only a second tier story in the NYT. For any other politician this would have been banner headlines. For Trump it is just one more one more. Will this lead to fraud or campaign finance law indictment?
4
So he runs his foundation as a scam and is caught.
Of course he paints this as a victory. "The foundation also portrayed the damages awarded by Justice Scarpulla as a “contribution,” adding that it was “pleased to donate an additional $2 million” to “worthy organizations.”"
Is there, in law, some point at which the Judge can say: "OK, the deal is that you walk away with your tail between your legs and thank your lucky stars that you got off with a lousy $2 million fine. If you want to call this some sort of victory, the deal is off and I'll see you back in court on Monday."?
That to me would be justice.
3
As soon as I saw the NYT headline "Trump Ordered to Pay $2 Million to Charities for Misuse of Foundation," this morning - it brought a smile to my face. Trump up to his old dirty tricks & gets caught violating Federal law for self interests & more untruths - - it doesn't end. Yikes a portrait for $10,000.0.0
I enjoyed reading the NYT article before any other news & the photo of the woman standing to Trump's left - - 'a picture is worth a thousand words.'
So, Trump is going to be in NYC - for the Veteran's Day Parade - Monday - November 11th. After this fraud the Veteran Organization (s) that invited him should withdraw the invitation but I have a sense they won't.
4
Does this shock anybody? Does it move any of his supporters? At least he told one truth - he could shoot somebody and not lose a voter.
1
Does anyone believe that THIS time he will actually pay up? He may have signed the settlement, but then promptly tweeted that the whole process was more fraudulent persecution. How long before his followers start a Go-Fund-Me campaign to spare their hero’s wallet?
9
Another example of the Trumps as a family of grifters. It is shameful but I doubt it bothers them one bit.
Instead of training on how to be a board member (as if they would be welcome again on any charitable board) how about community service?
The topper was money for veterans spent on a self-portrait -a portrait that I suppose he still gets to display in one of his clubs.
30
Though he had admitted wrongdoing in court papers, Mr. Trump attacked what he described as “the political hacks in New York State” in a defiant statement posted on Twitter on Thursday night, claiming that the foundation had given “100 percent of the funds to great charities”
Seriously? The settlement couldn’t include an additional large fine for every time Trump or his employees lied in direct contradiction to his court-admitted illegalities?
48
@KKnorp Trump aka the “Ultimate Spin Doctor’ (USD) is so good at spinning the truth; I doubt anyone can possibly predict or include enough verbiage to be able to prevent USD from spinning the truth in any direction, benefitting his persona.
3
This was a *civil* action by a *state* court.
The DOJ seemingly thinks the sitting President cannot he charged with criminal wrongdoing, and that DOJ memorandum is only effective (if at all) in federal courts.
10
The best part: Both sides agreed that three of Mr. Trump’s children who were officers of the foundation — Donald Trump, Jr., Ivanka Trump and Eric Trump — will undergo training in order to ensure they do not engage in similar improprieties.
26
If you believe the Trump kids didn’t know what they were doing was wrong, why do you think training them to be decent human beings will change them. They should have been fined as well. They should spend time in jail.
6
@Ziggy They will probably sleep through it or hire the College admissions scandals guy to attend for them
2
Trump's full sentence in his statement was, “All they found was incredibly effective philanthropy and some small technical violations, such as not keeping board minutes."
Don't let him get away with the spin. There were no minutes because there were no board meetings.
88
Why were none of the funds from the charity's assests or the fine given to veterans? The people that contributed in Iowa did so assuming that that was where their money was going. Also, will this information be reported in Star and Stripes? Will this information be discussed tonight by Hannity?
59
Operating a charity organized under state law and receiving significant state and federal tax benefits is a PUBLIC TRUST.
And if Mr. Trump and his children knowingly and fraudulently operated a state-level private charity, why would anyone exhibiting a modicum of truthful judgment entrust Mr. Trrump and his family to operate the greatest public trust on Earth; The Presidency of the United States?
47
It sure seems worse than having oral sex and lying about it.
3
The Trump charity donates all money received to charitable organizations, and is fined $2M . A quick look at other charities shows that many do not contribute all money taken in to the charities, many contribute less than 50% of what is taken in. If it was Clinton's or Obama's charity, I doubt the scrutiny and outcome would be the same. Political bias playing any role here?
Please name the charitable organizations that the Trump charity actually gave to, including amounts (if known), and not the ones it just promised to contribute to.
49
@G G The point of the lawsuit is that he did not donate all its money to charity, but used money raised to benefit Trump's political campaign and to buy a portrait that sits in a hotel. He misrepresented what the money was being used for. It is fraud, and he should have had to pay a heftier fine.
29
@G G, just stop. When trump admitted these things, why are you trying to do otherwise? If he DID donate all monies to charity, there wouldn't be a fine. "IF Clinton or Obama did it...." They didn't. That's the difference, silly. There were many investigations into the Clinton Foundation, if you remember. You DO remember, right?
Just like everyone else, trump's actions and words are his alone. You can't blame Hillary or Obama, you poor thing. TRUMP ADMITTED HE SPENT DONATED MONEY ON HIMSELF.
It's like trump supporters simply MUST defend the man. G G, when did the constitution and the established system of America's laws become 'political bias' in every single instance of trump's bad behavior?
The laws applied to every official: Nixon, Reagan, Hoover, Jackson, Obama and now trump. Never in history have people like you just insisted that the president is effectively a god, and all criticism is an attempted coup.
It's impossible to take you folks seriously. Adults use the law, and trump supporters use innuendo and smear campaigns.
6
Um... what's the "politically motivated" part, exactly?
WaPo reported allegations and evidence of wrongdoing. Once that info was public, any DA or AG, regardless of their political persuasion, would have been duty-bound to investigate (that's called 'probable cause') and follow the law wherever the evidence led them.
39
"The charity gave his campaign complete control over disbursing the $2.8 million that the foundation had raised at a fund-raiser for veterans in Iowa " and yet still supported by a majority of veterans.
23
@Smith That’s what the difference between people who knows the difference between truthful/trustworthy individuals & liars/never truthful & untrusted few amongst every neighborhoods by the very people who worked for/with such crooks.
With multiple business bankruptcies and lawsuits in courts,those who still want to vote for this president is nothing but travesty for being so ignorant about the very facts which hurts their own interests.
Those who knowingly want to axe their own feet,who we are as people to stop them! We just can extend goodwills for them & their families.
3
Thank you Mr Trump for your generous addition $2M court- ordered ‘donation’. Very generous of the court to oblige
22
@Henry O You assume he will pay the court-ordered funds. Check where his restaurants have failed to pay fines for health code violations or his campaign has not paid a significant number of municipalities for his rally expenses, etc. A good bet is that there will be another article about how he never paid this fine. Another good bet is that his supporters will comment that he was justified in not paying the fine because it wasn't fair in the first place. Besides, laws don't apply to the King.
4
Court decision prohibits Trump from engaging in charitable organizations without the presence of independent directors, legal experts, and accounting firms well schooled in the activity.
Trump's base permits him to run the country absent any responsible guardrails.
Perfect.
69
I didn't think I'd have to do math this late in life or this early in the morning but shouldn't he be required to give back $4 million since he, not only, ripped off the charities but the donors as well? How Christians, veterans and voters don't see his nonpartisan, nondenominational and cruel cons as pure evil astounds me now and will astound historians later.
92
What kind of billionaire cannot afford to pay $10,000 for a portrait from his own funds? And legal fees? Billionaire indeed!
96
@Curious One I caught that too. It also said he paid ‘corporate debts’, lol. Clearly, this is another potential reason for DT not wanting to share his tax returns.
17
@Curious One
They worship only one thing- MONEY.
They make their money the illegal way - cheating.
3
@Curious One, he's like a kleptomaniac; he'll take something even if he could afford it. His character is a cheap one, in every sense of the word. He gets MORE pleasure out of looking at his own glorious visage, when he thinks of how he got it for nothing, from losers.
Also, he's not a Billionaire. He's a millionaire, and even that's just on paper. He's a desperate clown, with spinning plates others set up for him. He can't keep them spinning, cuz it takes some talent. As every plate he touches wobbles and falls; when people start to walk out, he starts hurling plates at everyone, screaming that they are his enemies. But he keeps their money. And sues the town for laughing at him. Then makes up lies about how the rapt audience of thousands gave him billions out of gratitude. But he won't show the receipts to anyone who might want references.
6
Gee, I am so unimaginative. Now that I am enlightened, I am going to start a charity. It is to be called The Me Fund. People can donate money, the more the better. I promise that I will give money to people that might need some help. There will be no board, what's the sense. I will decide who the lucky donees will be. However, in the end, I'll probably be the only recipient.
What a neat plan. That's not wrong is it?
68
@geezer573
Not in trump’s world, nothing is illegal, remember 2nd Amendment?
3
@geezer573
George Costanza beat you to it with "The Human Fund" - a name Trump is obviously prohibited from using due to his general lack of humanity.
3
@geezer573 :
So is this your platform for the Presidency next year?
Good luck: it seems to have worked for Trump....
2
The lady holding the check in the photograph seems delighted to be there.
Thanks for the great reporting, NYT. Keep it up. I hope sensible Americans come to the polls next November and vote the circus out.
72
@PM
Wonder how they feel now, knowing that their event was a fund raiser, not for their charity!
3
The IRS and States should start doing this across the board with all tax exempt foundations. Obviously, the case against Trump’s foundation was politically motivated but the others should not escape scrutiny.
Too many foundations are used as tax-dodges, allowing friends and family members to write off travel and other expenses, self-aggrandize, etc, while doing very little charitable work.
Time to stop this entire scam.
38
@Park Bench
Politically motivated? There are way too many stories of tRump's illegal activities that have been suppressed. I think this is the tip of the iceberg.
37
@Park Bench Politically motivated?
In other words the persons suing didn't care about the people trump robbed under false pretenses, all they wanted was o embarrass him?
He needs no help embarrassing himself
3
@Park Bench
There's nothing 'obvious' about the political motivation. The IRS as well as the rest of our government resources who monitor these so-called 'charitable foundations' are pressed to the max. They'd love to jump on any and all of this sort of fraud, they just don't have the manpower.
However, if the NYT shows some Trump portrait paid for out of foundation funds, some government guy somewhere is going to be assigned to look at it. Is that political motivation? I don't think so. It's more that the Trumps are too stupid to understand that once they are public figures they will be under more scrutiny than they might have been if they had kept a low profile.
I've never seen anything like it. They don't even pretend to be honest.
4
I'm afraid that Don Jr., Ivanka, and Eric will view their training as a source of information about more loopholes that they can exploit in future grifting enterprises.
111
Makes me wonder if by settling this, the president is admitting that it’s perfectly possible to investigate the president and hold him accountable. How does this not set a precedent that invalidates his refusals to cooperate with other investigations of his actions prior to taking office?
76
@Daniel we can only imagine what info didn’t get out as a result of this settlement.
10
That is a very good insight.
3
Characterizing this as “fiscal mismanagement” is as big a fraud as was Trump’s intentional theft of charitable donations for his own personal use. Both - use of normalizing language to describe a consistent pattern of violations of law - are hallmarks of the Trump era. Each is dependent on the other.
And, I’m being charitable.
46
I’m sure the term “fiscal mismanagement” was one agreed to in the terms of the settlement, not language in the original lawsuit against the Trumps and their foundation.
9
He got off way to easy. He should've had to give until it really hurt.
88
It was a tax shelter and source of revenue for trump for many years
3
Perhaps this is the first dent in his armor, but I fear it's just another diversion. Let's see Trump's tax returns and those of his "organization" and his offspring. That should be interesting reading. (And while we're waiting for that, I have been searching both the print and online editions for coverage of "A Warning," which was all over the news channels last night, including your own reporter. Did I miss this cycle's biggest story?)
32
@CP "Warning" will be released Nov 19th. Meanwhile -- there are stories in various newspapers and on MSNBC highlighting some excerpts that have been released. I think I saw some quotes from the book in a NYT article.
11
@CP
To those waiting breathlessly on Trump's tax returns, let me make two predictions which will hopefully allow you to breath again. If his tax returns are ever released, (1) they will show massive fraud, and (2) it won't move the needle one millimeter on his support.
65
@Ron but ny state is waiting in the wings to prosecute him for tax fraud. My prediction, the supremes won't take the case (they rarely do when lower court decision is unanimous) and ny will have his taxes before new years. Tick tock!
9
Would not this issue be more comprehensive and viable for impeachment forcing “Republican” Senators to finally declare a sense of moral “courage” optimizing the result America deserves?
34
@Paul Zimmermann Gardner Republicans have no courage -- moral or otherwise. I'm sure they see nothing wrong with Trump pretending to have a fundraiser for veterans in Iowa while in actuality having a rally for himself and pocketing the money for himself.
Hey, the Republicans had no problem with his fraudulent Trump University in which he had to pay out $25 million to shut down the lawsuits for his having scammed the poor slobs who signed up for that con job. The Republicans instead of running away from the flimflam man instead nominated him to be president. He's one of them -- so they'll never willingly dump him.
6
It is one of many, many illegal, moral lacking rules that trump has forced on Americans
5
@Paul Zimmermann Gardner
There their dodge would be that these actions were taken prior to his residency as il Presidente.
4
Every day I find myself in a state of shock over the world of Trump. But the same shock applies to what seems to be a breakdown of the tools of justice and a pervasive public apathy that has left our voices too weak to demand that those in power truly do the right thing. The settlement is a total sham.
The level of gall here is astonishing. The board, comprised of Trump and his kids (and perhaps some other cronies) never met over two decades. Money raised under the veil of doing good for worthy causes was appropriated by those in charge without any sense of consequence. A settlement that allows Trump to operate charities ever again is simply absurd. Given what is widely known about the manner in which Trump conducts business the idea of a board of independent directors ensuring proper control is ridiculous. Similarly, the idea that Eric, Donald Jr and Ivanka will “undergo training in order to ensure they will not engage in similar improprieties” is a joke. I’d love to get a look at this training. And the overall financial penalties have no impact to the perpetrators.
For Justice Scarpulla and Letitia James to see this as a victory and justice prevailing seems incomprehensible. What are we all pretending not to know!
160
@Alex Hyman If I were a betting man, I'd bet that one of the things the Tax Returns will not show is a lot of charitable donations.
As in none. Possibly a fraction of what most people with his supposed level of wealth, more most likely none.
5
It is not like he will pay, his campaign will pay, his donors will pay.
101
@swade if his campaign pays that would be a violation of the law...ny state is waiting...tick tock.
3
@swade You should change to "his "marks" will pay.".
1
As a reminder, the fundraiser in question for veterans in Iowa was a stunt by Trump when he boycotted the last debate before the Iowa caucuses in 2016. It was widely known that the only check Support Siouxland Soldiers ever received was the giant novelty one in the photo op above.
Yet just like with Trump University and several other scams, Donald Trump is able to escape any real consequences of his bad acts by writing a check out of funds he has demonstrated are probably not his own.
It must be nice to live a consequence-free life.
291
@Jimal
Actually, I think he was forced to give the promised money after the WaPo published a story that proved he didn't. He certainly didn't give it voluntarily.
52
@JakeNGracie Possibly, though I'm not sure that ever happened and the settlement here is to pay $2 Million to multiple charities for damages incurred, which I assume means for the promised funds that never materialized.
For some additional context, here is local coverage of the rally in question at the time.
https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/elections/presidential/caucus/2016/01/29/trump-rally-isnt-better-than-debate/79462842/
2
@Jimal The look on that woman's face in the center says it all : (
5
And he has the gall to call the $2 mill he was ordered to pay to the charities a “gift”! Sorta reminds me of the classic definition of chutzpah: killing your parents and then throwing yourself at the mercy of the court because you’re an orphan!
222
@Tom Seeley Calling it a gift will allow his financial advisers to claim it as a deduction on his next fraudulent income tax return (the return will go to himself not the IRS)
35
@Tom Seeley Trump is the ultimate spin doctor.
3
Being ridden out of town on a rail after being tarred and feathered and describing it as “leading a parade of townspeople”
5
why does the unflattering essence of Donald trump show up daily? It's because the full essence of Donald trump IS unflattering. VOTE
118
The Donald J. Trump Foundation
Trump University
The Trump Presidency
In all three cases, there is an endless stream of evidence of award-winning fraud, law-breaking and malignant narcissism as far as the eye can see.
"When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time." - Maya Angelou
Wake up, Trumpistan; unapologetic fraud for breakfast, lunch and dinner is not good for you, America or the world.
339
@Socrates
Don't forget Trump Steaks!
9
@Socrates, I am laughing to keep from crying, you have once again summed up the sorry and worrisome state of the Trump presidency. I keep thinking it can’t get worse but somehow each day he takes our nations’s highest office to depths I never imagined possible.
7
The IRS thing is just starting. Allegations are that Trump diverted vendor payments to foundation from his corporate bank accounts to avoid paying income taxes on his business income. Gonna get cute if he loses control of IRS.
136
Anything illegal trump will try, upon failing he will blame others, over and over again
3
I think many of us in education wrote Trump off a snake oil salesman when we heard about "Trump University." Why doers a billionaire need to peddle worthless education? Why does a billionaire need to make phony charitable contributions? Even if he is not as rich as he claims to be, this charitable foundation seems to have no other purpose than letting him congratulate himself as the sneakiest person in the room.
88
@Robert Cadigan
He does because he can and no one stops him. The more he can plaster the Trump name on things the happier he is.
4
@Robert Cadigan
He thinks he's the smartest person because he gets away with so much.
Gollow the money and then close the loopholes.
4
Unfortunately, this won’t affect Republicans’ unwavering support of Trump at all.
82
@Karen Lee
EXACTLY! how sad...
2
They are hopeless and deserving of what ever bad comes to trump
2
Sure hope this will not become a tax deduction for him and family.
61
Why no jail time for any Trumps? Serious fraud.
172
I love low hanging fruit! This is a high crime and misdemeanor. What are we waiting for!? This is theft pure and simple and the donors should be outraged.
129
@MS
Great point! how many poor people serve time, or at least are put on probation for far lesser "crimes"?
4
@MS
Trump's mindless cult followers will dismiss this shocking admission of egregious fraud by Trump by saying, "Uhhhhh, well I don't know if he really did that."
2
Wait. The foundation raised 2.8 million and he was fined 2 million. That’s the art of the deal. We should all run charitable foundations. Win-win! Plus we can all get $10,000 portraits! Vets don’t need that money. Trump prefers people that didn’t serve anyways.
143
@T. Rivers
That 2 million is just the "cost of doing business" in order to get the $800,000. It's his standard operating procedure, and I don't understand why more people don't see it. In all his scams, even if he's caught, he literally gets to keep some of the money, for doing nothing other than conning people out of it.
For fun, you should do the math on the Trump University thing. Those are scary big numbers.
69
@T. Rivers
What you write is so painfully and profoundly true.
Wake up America!
5
And the IRS needs to make sure that he doesn't claim the money paid to nonprofit groups as a charitable donation!
130
@HN
Keep in mind .... this is the IRS , run by Charles Rettig ,who was chosen for the position AFTER writing an opinion piece stating Trump should NOT release his taxes.
He's another toady , chosen for loyalty to the Trump criminal enterprise.
2
This charity was just one of the many ways that Trump and family hid money from the IRS, one more reason to see his taxes.
186
Our president admitted to significant wrongdoing by acknowlwedging that he spent funds raised by his charity to pay personal business and campaign debts, but announced to the world via Twitter that he was the victim of people out to get him.
He was assessed a $2,000,000 dollar fine as a consequence for his malfeasance, but then told the world that he donated that sum to charity.
Apparently, we live in a wolrd where people are happy to believe that up is down and black is white. As concerned as I am about the president's actions, I am more concerned about the number of people who believe his words.
392
@Apple314 I wonder, can the people who donated to his foundation get a refund, since he didn't use the funds for the purpose in which it was given?
And can the IRS kill the tax deductions they used?
9
@Apple314
YESSSS!!!
5
Of course he exploited veterans for his own personal financial gain. That comes as a surprise to exactly no one. I just really hope the Democrats don’t let this one go as just another indiscretion of a bad person. This is campaign gold for the democrats. They should talk about this every single time they can.
211
@Dan
Write your congressmen/women and demand they make this a HUGE deal out of this.
This is a despicable and treacherous act.
Even the most hardened Trump supporters will waiver in their support knowing low life, draft dodging, bone spur faking, Trump lied about his fundraiser and instead stole this 3 million from Veterans to allocate to his own campaign.
This low life, draft dodging, phony bone spur Trump DEFRAUDS our revered men and women so many of whom are suffering from their multiple deployments to serve and protect our country.
Trump and his corrupt family are the most despicable treacherous subhumans on the face of this planet.
A measly 2 million fine?
That's chump change to the Trumps.
It should be 100 million plus 10 years in jail.
No one is above the law.
And NO one can treat our Vets with such disdain.
9
I'm sorry, Mr. Trump, but these are not "small technical violations," they are egregious distortions of the essence of what a charity is all about, and just one more example of how everything you do is seen solely through the lens of advancing your self-interest. The contrast between your admission of wrongdoing as required by this judge, and your immediate distortion via tweet is a perfect example of why I can never trust a word you say.
239
Trump’s use of his “charity” as a bank from which he could personally profit sounds just like his he treats taxpayer money as “president”.
104
"I never settle any lawsuits", said our honest president. Many of us know that he settles most of his lawsuits.
This one is his best yet and even better than the Trump University setlement.
This one goes to the heart of who Trump is as a man. He is a con artist.
Mr Trump took monies that were supposed to go to charities and used it for his campaign.
His so called foundation funneled money directly to Donald J. Trump.
How much more evidence do we need to know that our president is not who he claimed he was. Most of us knew that but this settlement is further evidence for the people who voted for Trump because they believed he was a charitable and honest businessman.
As our president likes to say, "It was all a hoax".
177
@Charna
Won't make a bit of difference to some. As he said "I could shoot someone...." As long as they get their Supreme Court picks and support for their bigotry, they'll stick with him.
4
He has already deducted it four times.
5
@Charna
The Trump father Fred started scamming the government to build his fortune. He taught his son well in just that one trait- lie and cheat to claim success.
3
another example of how "rich people crime" is not governed by the same principles used for regular folks ...
146
It is much better to be guilty and rich than innocent and poor.
5
Trump and his family can’t be trusted with a charitable foundation without remedial training, but are entrusted with running our country. Please, let us survive this administration.
439
As they say in the TV procedurals "the court is not a collection agency." Don't hold your breath regarding payment of the two million.
55
Given Trump’s predilection to grift, as exemplified by this legal ruling, would the Times please follow up and make sure that he 1) pays the fine; 2) the check doesn’t get returned for insufficient funds; and more likely 3) that one of his donors doesn’t pay the fine for him as a way of currying favor.
255
@Observer
In other words, we don't trust him!
6
@Observer Here, here! I want real proof that this debt is paid and paid by the perp himself.
Media - stay on this story until this debt is paid!
6
...after the president admitted misusing money raised by the Donald J. Trump Foundation to promote his presidential bid.
Is this not a violation of Federal election financing laws?
Shouldn't Trump have to pay income taxes (in addition to the $2M damages) on the money raised by his foundation?
Who, in the Federal government, will step up and hold this man accountable?
464
@MS Not to worry: we have a whole party of "fiscal responsibility" hawks who are eager to punish government waste.
Now excuse me while I go dry my eyes from the laughter.
7
That is a very good question.
1
@MS Trump has highlighted the institutional privilege, racism, misogyny of America’s Department of Justice. Trump considers the DOJ his private attorney and police force, like all autocrats and the degree to which Barr and Federal Prosecutor’s comply reveals the extent of corruption and violation of our “equal justice” Constitutional guarantees. Guarantees of equal justice implies equal representation before the law. Without equal representation, justice is a fraud in America.
5