A group of House Democrats has asked the Justice Department to investigate whether Donald Trump tried to illegally influence the Florida attorney general who was investigating Trump University.
House Judiciary Committee Democrats, led by Ranking Member John Conyers of Michigan, sent a letter to Attorney General Loretta Lynch Tuesday asking the federal agency look into whether the Republican nominee’s Trump Foundation gave a $25,000 bribe to Attorney General Pam Bondi, in the form of a donation to her campaign.
“It has been reported that Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi personally solicited a political contribution from Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump while her office deliberated joining an investigation of fraud at Trump University. A political organization backing Mrs. Bondi’s reelection reported receiving a $25,000 donation from the Donald J. Trump Foundation on September 17, 2013 — just four days after her office announced it might join a New York state probe of Trump University and its affiliates. At least one of Mr. Trump’s family members also donated to her campaign. After receiving these funds, Mrs. Bondi declined to further investigate Mr. Trump’s business interests,” the group wrote.
According to the Judiciary House Democrats, Trump and his organization could be on the hook for an unlawful bribery scheme that deprived constituents of honest services of public officials, and deliberate failure to disclose the transfer of funds by a nonprofit foundation to the Internal Revenue Service.
The billionaire businessman has previously paid a $2,500 penalty to the Internal Revenue Service and refunded his foundation the $25,000 donation to Bondi. But the lawmakers claim in light of growing pressure from newspapers’ editorial boards, a full investigation into Trump’s actions is warranted.
