Charges were filed by the state of New York regarding the illegal manner in which Trump Foundation funds were disbursed for political campaigning purposes. The filing noted the charity’s “persistently illegal conduct.”
Trump tweeted his anger at the unfairness of the situation, claiming that he would never settle.
The sleazy New York Democrats, and their now disgraced (and run out of town) A.G. Eric Schneiderman, are doing everything they can to sue me on a foundation that took in $18,800,000 and gave out to charity more money than it took in, $19,200,000. I won’t settle this case!…
Trump was then ordered by the court to pay $2 million to settle charges over his fraudulent charity, which he agreed to later that year. He had made similar claims about Trump University before it was also shut down and he was forced to settle for $25 million.
The remarks came after Manafort was indicted and jailed for witness tampering. Manafort was Trump’s campaign manager for 5 months, personally picked Pence as his running mate, and was part the transition team. Manafort has since been convicted of tax and bank fraud, stemming from his work as a lobbyist for Russian interests in Ukraine.
Serving as Trump’s Attorney General, Sessions recused from the investigation into Russian election interference. himself per a Department of Justice regulation that disallows officials from investigating campaigns they were a part of.
As head of the FBI, Sessions explained that Department of Justice regulations required he do so. The rule in question states that DoJ employees cannot “participate in a criminal investigation or prosecution if he has a personal or political relationship with any person or organization substantially involved…or who would be directly affected by the outcome.”
After, Trump repeatedly attacked his Attorney General, demanding he reverse his recusal. Sessions ultimately resigned the day after the 2018 midterm elections.
Trump continued to attack Sessions after, especially amid Sessions’ 2020 candidacy for Alabama’s US Senator.
Jeff, you had your chance & you blew it. Recused yourself ON DAY ONE (you never told me of a problem), and ran for the hills. You had no courage, & ruined many lives. The dirty cops, & others, got caught by better & stronger people than you. Hopefully this slime will pay a big… https://t.co/AJPUBTPCnT
The for-profit real estate training program was founded in 2005 and ran for 5 years before being investigated for illegal business practices and defrauding its students. Amid two federal class-action lawsuits and one filed in new York state court, it was shut down in 2011.
Trump University held no accreditation, and used high-pressure sales tactics to sell seminars to its “students.” It’s Gold Elite package was priced at $35,000.
Dan Herrick/KPA/Zuma Press
Trump settled immediately after the 2016 election for $25 million, despite having said he never would. In that suit, he blamed court decisions on the judge, claiming bias due to the judge’s Hispanic ethnicity.
Trump University has a 98% approval rating. I could have settled but won't out of principle!
The Justice Department sued the Trump Management Corporation in 1973, based on evidence gathered by the New York City Human Rights Division. The agency alleged that black people who were told that no apartments were available, while white people were offered units.
After two years, the case was settled. Trump did not have to admit guilt as part of the settlement. He attempted to counter-sue the Justice Department for making false allegations, but it was dismissed by the court.
Trump’s lawyers later claimed that his charity only spent $10,000 on the painting, and was forced to because after they placed the initial bid at auction, no other bids followed.
Trump first met Daniels at a 2006 celebrity golf tournament. They took photos together, and he invited her to dinner in his hotel room. After promising her a spot on Celebrity Apprentice, they had unprotected sex. Just months prior, Trump’s wife Melania had given birth to Barron, her only child, and his fifth.
Trump and Daniels meet at a 2006 celebrity golf tournament
Daniels sold the story for $15,000 to a magazine in 2011, but it never ran and she was never paid. She alleged that soon after, a man approached her in a parking lot and directly threatened her over the story.
A month ahead of the 2016 election, Trump’s personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, provided a $130,000 payment for her to maintain her silence. Cohen later pleaded guilty to campaign finance crimes for his role in facilitating the non-disclosure agreement.
Trump repeatedly denied that the affair happened, and that he didn’t know of any payments to her.
When Daniels spoke out, a prolonged legal battle began over her breaking the terms of the NDA. Her lawsuits to break the terms of the NDA were eventually dismissed. Trump took the opportunity tweet further denials, using his moniker for her, “Horseface.”
“Federal Judge throws out Stormy Danials lawsuit versus Trump. Trump is entitled to full legal fees.” @FoxNews Great, now I can go after Horseface and her 3rd rate lawyer in the Great State of Texas. She will confirm the letter she signed! She knows nothing about me, a total con!
Within a month of denying any knowledge of the payment, spokesman Rudy Giuliani revealed that Trump had reimbursed Cohen for the $130,000.
Daniels filed three suits against Trump and his legal team to escape the NDA. One was dismissed, another was dismissed where Daniels was ordered to pay $293k in legal fees and went into an appeal process, and the third was settled.
In 1998, Trump settled a class-action lawsuit for $1.4 million for 1980 labor law violations. He had hired undocumented Polish immigrants to work 12 hour shifts without gloves, hard hats or masks, for as little as $4 an hour. They had been tasked with demolishing and clearing the site that Trump Tower now sits at in Manhattan.
The details of the settlement had long been sealed until a US District Court judge for the Southern District of New York found unsealed them in 2017, believing it be pertinent to the public’s interest as Trump had taken office.
Donald Trump used his son’s charity for children with cancer to funnel donor money into his own for-profit organization. The charity was supposed to be able to contribute virtually all its donations because it was using Trump family assets for fundraising events. Instead, the charity paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to Donald Trump’s private business.
