New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman revealed on Tuesday that he has launched a probe into Donald Trump’s charitable foundation to ensure the Republican presidential nominee is “complying with the laws governing charities” in the Empire State.
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Schneiderman told CNN that his office has opened an investigation into the Donald J. Trump Foundation in addition to its $40 million civil lawsuit against Trump’s now-defunct online university. A source close to the Attorney General told Politico that the investigation is based on “troubling transactions that have recently come to light.”
“My interest in this issue really is in my capacity as a regulator of nonprofits in New York state,” Schneiderman told CNN. “We have been concerned that the Trump Foundation may have engaged in some impropriety from that point of view.”
He continued, “We’ve inquired into it and we’ve had correspondence with them. I didn’t make a big deal out of it or hold a press conference.”
News of the investigation follows new questions about a contribution made by the foundation to Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi in 2014, shortly after she declined to launch a fraud case against the billionaire related to Trump University.
Both Bondi and Trump have denied any wrongdoing, but Trump was forced to pay $2,500 to the IRS for using his charitable foundation to contribute to a political cause.
Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee urged Attorney General Loretta Lynch on Tuesday to investigate the contribution, claiming it “may have influenced” Bondi’s decision against pursuing litigation against Trump University.
