November 22, 2016

Trump Foundation Admits to Violating “Self-Dealing” Rules

Days after the president-elect settled his Trump University lawsuits for $25 million.

Andrew Milligan/PA Wire/ZUMA

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Donald Trump’s charitable foundation has admitted to violating an IRS ban “self-dealing,” the Washington Post reported on Tuesday. The rules prohibit leaders of non-profit organizations from using funds to benefit a “disqualified” person, which can include the president-elect himself, members of his family, or their private business interests.

The news comes just days after Trump agreed to pay $25 million to settle several fraud lawsuits related to Trump University.

The new admission was uncovered in the foundation’s newest IRS filings, which were posted online on Monday by a nonprofit tracking site, GuideStar.

Throughout his campaign, Trump was dogged by accusations that he used his philanthropic organization to pay off business obligations, settle lawsuits, and even purchase a 6-foot-tall painting of himself.

On Monday, Trump’s lawyers promised that the Trump Foundation would not use its funds to help pay for the $25 million Trump University settlement.

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is the first thing despots go after. An unwavering commitment to it is probably what draws you to Mother Jones' journalism. And as we're seeing in the US and the world around, authoritarians seek to poison the discourse and the way we relate to each other because they can't stand people coming together around a shared sense of the truth—it's a huge threat to them.

Which is also a pretty great way to describe Mother Jones' mission: People coming together around the truth to hold power accountable.

And right now, we need to raise about $400,000 from our online readers over the next two months to hit our annual goal and make good on that mission. Read more about the information war we find ourselves in and how people-powered, independent reporting can and must rise to the challenge—and please support our team's truth-telling journalism with a donation if you can right now.

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