Another glimpse of how Donald Trump would run the government... like his campaign... like his charities. For personal enrichment.
Donald Trump used money donated for charity to buy himself a Tim Tebow-signed football helmet
By David A. Fahrenthold July 1 at 6:00 AM
washingtonpost.com
Did Donald Trump violate IRS rules, by using a charity's money to buy himself a signed football helmet?
Four years ago, at a charity fundraiser in Palm Beach, Donald Trump got into a bidding war at the evening's live auction. The items up for sale: A Denver Broncos helmet, autographed by then-star quarterback Tim Tebow, and a Tebow jersey.
Trump won, eventually, with a bid of $12,000. Afterward, he posed with the helmet. His purchase made gossip-column news: a flourish of generosity, by a mogul with money to burn. "The Donald giveth, and The Donald payeth," wrote the Palm Beach Daily News. "Blessed be the name of The Donald."
But Trump didn't actually pay with his own money.
Instead, the Susan G. Komen organization -- the breast-cancer nonprofit that hosted the party -- got a $12,000 payment from another nonprofit , the Donald J. Trump Foundation.
Trump himself sent no money (In fact, a Komen spokesperson said, Trump has never given a personal gift of cash to the Komen organization). He paid the bill with money from a charity he founded in 1987, but which is largely stocked with other people's money. Trump is the foundation's president. But, at the time of the auction, Trump had given none of his own money to the foundation for three years running.
The Washington Post discovered this unusual payment -- a charity apparently buying sports memorabilia for a super-wealthy man -- this week, during a review of Trump's charitable giving.
Afterward, three experts on tax law questioned whether Trump had violated IRS rules against "self-dealing" -- which are designed to keep nonprofit officials from using their charities to help themselves.
</snip> Rest here : washingtonpost.com |
