Trump Foundation Cannot Legally Ask Public for Donations

According to a spokesperson from the N.Y. Attorney General Office, Donald Trump’s charity foundation never obtained certification to solicit donations from the public.

“The Trump Foundation must immediately cease soliciting contributions or engaging in any other fundraising activities in New York,” wrote James Sheehan, the Chief of the Charities Bureau, in a “notice of violation” last Friday.

Special certification is explicitly required by the state of New York for any charity that asks for more than $25,000 per year. Additionally, charities as large as the Trump Foundation must also pass a rigorous inspection which investigates whether the charity allocates any money towards the benefit of its officers.

After news broke last Friday that the Trump Foundation lacks the proper paperwork, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman has forced Trump’s charity to stop collecting money. He could also potentially force Trump to return all of the money that has been raised so far.

Officials suspect Trump of laundering the donated money and using it for his personal use, with Sheehan warning that “The failure immediately to discontinue solicitation and to file information and reports shall be deemed a fraud upon the people of the state of New York.”

While Trump himself has not addressed the controversy, Hope Hicks (a Trump campaign spokeswoman) accused the attorney general of bias on Monday, saying “While we remain very concerned about the political motives behind A. G. Schneiderman’s investigation, the Trump Foundation nevertheless intends to cooperate fully with the investigation.”

Schneiderman has indeed endorsed Clinton.

However, this is not the first time Trump’s namesake foundation has violated tax laws. Back in 2013, the foundation gave money to a fundraising group supporting Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, despite regulations that nonprofit groups may not use political gifts to support any political affairs.

Nevertheless, Trump’s charity then filed a tax filing which deleted any instance of that political donation, and then incorrectly stated that the money had gone towards a charity in Kansas.

“There’s a problem first of all with a charity giving a political contribution,” said Noah Bookbinder, the executive director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, “and then it looks like there’s a problem with giving false information to the IRS.”

The Trump foundation was cited this September for the violation, and the businessman had to pay a $2,500 penalty tax for his political contribution.

But when asked whether his charity followed the law earlier this fall, Trump maintained its legality.

“Well, I hope so,” he said. “I mean, my lawyers do it.”