Donald Trump used $258,000 of his foundation's money to settle legal cases over the years, according to a new report.
The Washington Post cites tax documents from the Donald J. Trump Foundation that show the Republican presidential candidate may have violated IRS laws.
In one instance, Trump's charity paid a $100,000 settlement to a veterans charity stemming from a 2007 case involving his Mar-a-Lago Club and a flag pole that was too tall. The town of Palm Beach, Fla. had ordered the club to pay the amount, not the foundation.
One of Trump's other golf courses, this one in New York, was ordered in a separate case to make a $158,000 donation to a charity selected by the plaintiff. Again, Trump's foundation paid the bill, the Post reports.
In other cases, Trump's foundation sent checks to purchase portraits of himself, to buy advertisements for his hotel chain, and a football autographed by quarterback Tim Tebow.
According to the Post, Trump was the only donor to his foundation until the mid-2000s. At that point, he began accepting cash from other parties — including $5 million from professional wrestling's Vince and Linda McMahon.
"I represent 700 nonprofits a year, and I've never encountered anything so brazen," attorney Jeffrey Tenenbaum told the Post.
"If he's using other people's money — run through his foundation — to satisfy his personal obligations, then that's about as blatant an example of self-dealing [as] I've seen in a while."
Hillary Clinton's campaign reacted to the story, telling Politico Trump's foundation is hardly a charity.
"Clearly the Trump Foundation is as much a charitable organization as Trump University is an institute of higher education," spokesperson Christina Reynolds said.
Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, meanwhile, vented about Trump on the Senate floor Tuesday, reports the Post. Reid has been a fierce critic of Trump during the presidential campaign.
"Trump can't be trusted with his own charity. Are we supposed to believe he can manage the nation’s treasury, provide money for our armed services or homeland security?" asked Reid, who added Trump, if elected president, would be the "scammer-in-chief."
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