Florida attorney general Pam Bondi has endorsed Donald Trump the day before the Sunshine State’s Republican presidential primary. The Tampa Bay Times reports Bondi endorsed Trump at a rally Monday and called him “the most popular person in Florida, by far.”
Bondi, who was first elected attorney general in 2010, was reelected in 2014 even as question arose about her mixing of politics and official duties. The most high-profile incident came in September 2013, when Bondi successfully persuaded Florida governor Rick Scott to delay the execution of a convicted murderer and rapist so it would not conflict with a fundraiser for her reelection campaign.
Bondi apologized last month after she persuaded Gov. Rick Scott to delay an execution so she could host a fundraiser at her South Tampa home that ended up raising $140,000. Now comes criticism of a $25,000 contribution made by one of Donald Trump’s foundations to a political committee associated with Bondi. The donation came three days after an Attorney General’s Office spokeswoman said Bondi was reviewing allegations in a lawsuit filed by the New York attorney general against get-rich-quick seminars associated with Trump…. A Sept. 14 Orlando Sentinel story noted that Schneiderman cited dozens of complaints filed with the Florida Attorney General’s Office in 2008, two years before Bondi took office. A spokeswoman for Bondi was quoted as saying the office was reviewing the New York lawsuit. Three days later, the Donald J. Trump Foundation, based in New York, made a $25,000 contribution to And Justice for All, a political fundraising committee raising money for Bondi’s re-election. Florida hasn’t followed New York’s lead against Trump. Bondi couldn’t be reached for comment. Jenn Meale, a Bondi spokeswoman, suggested no action is necessary because the affected Florida consumers would be compensated if New York wins that case. But a review of the 22 complaints filed in 2008 show they named the “Trump Institute,” an entity not named in the New York suit. Because those are technically different entities, it’s unclear how many making those complaints would be covered, then, by the New York suit.
Ultimately, Bondi’s office did not end up joining the lawsuit or filing a separate one.
Trump University has come under scrutiny by former students, who say the school and its successor, the Trump Entrepreneur Initiative, defrauded them. A former employee of Trump University was recently featured in an ad from a super PAC opposing Trump’s presidential campaign:
