Trump’s charitable donations mystery remains unsolved
With just one week to go before the US presidential election, the FBI’s unexpected revisiting of the Hillary Clinton e-mail investigation has temporarily taken the glaring spotlight off the numerous scandals, allegations and lawsuits plaguing Donald Trump. But David Fahrenthold of the Washington Post is determined not to be distracted.
In case you’ve missed it, Fahrenthold has been doggedly ploughing through Trump’s claims that he gave “over $100 million” to charity. During the past few months, he has proved again and again that Trump’s charitable pledges did not come out of the candidate’s own pocket, and that money from the Trump Foundation (donated by other people) was repeatedly misspent, from being used to purchase a $20,000 from portrait of Trump, to settling lawsuits and even paying for Trump’s own lawyers.
Fahrenthold has been detailing his quest on twitter, but so far the Trump campaign has refused to respond to his numerous questions. If you’re curious about the misuses of charitable dondations Trump may be hiding as the election draws into its final stretch, here is Fahrenthold’s reminder:
2/But, knowing you folks, we may have them all solved by the end of lunch. Here goes…
— David Fahrenthold (@Fahrenthold) November 1, 2016
4/In 2010, buddy Stewart Rahr “volunteered” Trump for a $100K gift to the Buoniconti Project. Did he pay? Dunno. Trump Fdn. didn’t. pic.twitter.com/W5vY4iQM50
— David Fahrenthold (@Fahrenthold) November 1, 2016
6/And where is the signed @timtebow helmet that @realdonaldtrump bought with money meant for charity? https://t.co/eKXYHr1P2Z
— David Fahrenthold (@Fahrenthold) November 1, 2016
7/If @realdonaldtrump gave personal gifts to these grps, I could change this page. After 420-plus phone calls, it hasn’t changed since June. pic.twitter.com/zz87InqDZg
— David Fahrenthold (@Fahrenthold) November 1, 2016
8/Forgot a mystery. In ’02, @realDonaldTrump promised $1M-plus to @UnitedWay. Trump Fdn paid only $500K. Not clear if Trump paid the rest. pic.twitter.com/coNl27kErh
— David Fahrenthold (@Fahrenthold) November 1, 2016
In recent weeks, Trump has been tweeting under the hashtag #DrainTheSwamp, promising to root out corruption and fraud in Washington. He could start by answering Fahrenthold’s questions. Because so far, only one donation from Trump himself between January 2009 and May 2016 has been verified. Mystery unsolved…