NY Probe Into Donald Trump Foundation Expands, Report Says

The New York attorney general's investigation into the Trump Foundation is expanding to include other instances of potential violations of federal tax codes, according to a report from Talking Points Memo.

The town attorney for Palm Beach, Florida, told TPM that he sent documents to Eric Schneiderman, the New York attorney general, related to a lawsuit Donald Trump settled with the town.

Trump, the GOP presidential nominee, built an 80-foot flagpole in 2007 outside of his Mar-a-Lago resort, higher than the town allows. Trump settled the lawsuit by paying $100,000 to a veteran's charity, the Washington Post first reported.

But the payment came from the Trump Foundation, a charity organization largely filled with other people's money that Trump himself hasn't paid into since 2009.

Regardless of who is funding the charity, settling a personal lawsuit with money raised for a non-profit would seemingly violate IRS rules against "self-dealing."

"The New York Attorney General’s Office did contact me in regard to this matter," John Randolph, the Palm Beach town attorney, told TPM. "I just sent them the documents that I had previously sent to the Washington Post."

The New York attorney general's office did not immediately return a phone call from Patch seeking confirmation of the TPM report. The Trump campaign did not immediately respond to an email from Patch asking for comment.

Read the full Talking Points Memo report here.

Schneiderman, a Democrat who has been vocal in his support for Hillary Clinton, had confirmed earlier this month that he was looking into a $25,000 payment made by Trump's foundation. That payment went to a PAC backing Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, who was considering investigating Trump University for fraud.

Her office filed no charges in that case. The Trump Foundation paid a voluntary $2,500 penalty to the IRS for the gift.

Top Democrats, in a letter to U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch, have called for a federal criminal investigation into the Trump Foundation.

“This fact pattern indicates that these payments may have influenced Mrs. Bondi’s official decision not to participate in litigation against Mr. Trump,” the letter said. “A number of criminal statutes would appear to be implicated by this course of conduct."

The letter came after extensive reporting from the Washington Post's David A. Fahrenthold, who has uncovered instances of Trump using his charity's money to settle another lawsuit in Florida and buy items for personal use, including two paintings of himself and a football helmet signed by Tim Tebow.

Image: New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, via Department of Defense