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Discussion in 'BBS Hangout: Debate & Discussion' started by RocketsLegend, Aug 1, 2016.

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Rashmon Member

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NY Times is in on it too...

New Records Shed Light on Donald Trump’s $25,000 Gift to Florida Official

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — It was Aug. 29, 2013, an unremarkable day inside Florida’s whitewashed Capitol, and a typically sweltering one outside among the moss-bearded oaks and sabal palms. Around 3:45 p.m., Jennifer Meale, the communications director for Attorney General Pam Bondi, fielded a seemingly routine call from a financial reporter for The Orlando Sentinel. The attorney general of New York had recently filed a lawsuit against Donald J. Trump alleging fraud in the marketing of Trump University’s real estate and wealth-building seminars. Had Florida ever conducted its own investigation, the reporter asked.

The call set off an exchange of emails between Ms. Meale and top lawyers in the office. She learned that 23 complaints about Trump-related education enterprises had been filed before Ms. Bondi became attorney general in 2011, and one since. They had never generated a formal investigation, she wrote the reporter, but added, “We are currently reviewing the allegations in the New York complaint.”

The Sentinel’s report, which was published on Sept. 13, 2013, paraphrased Ms. Meale’s response and took it a step further, saying that Ms. Bondi’s office would “determine whether Florida should join the multi-state case.” Four days later, a check for $25,000 from the Donald J. Trump Foundation landed in the Tampa office of a political action committee that had been formed to support Ms. Bondi’s 2014 re-election. In mid-October, her office announced that it would not be acting on the Trump University complaints.

The proximate timing of the Sentinel article and Mr. Trump’s donation, and suspicions of a quid pro quo, have driven a narrative that has dogged Mr. Trump and Ms. Bondi for three years. It has intensified during Mr. Trump’s presidential campaign, peaking this month with the filing of ethics complaints, calls for a federal investigation by editorial boards and Democrats in Congress, and a new investigation of Mr. Trump’s foundation by New York regulators.

But documents obtained this week by The New York Times, including a copy of Mr. Trump’s check, at least partly undercut that timeline. Although the check was received by Ms. Bondi’s committee four days after the Sentinel report, and was recorded as such in her financial disclosure filings, it was actually dated and signed by Mr. Trump four days before the article appeared.

The check’s date does not categorically demonstrate that Mr. Trump was not seeking to influence Ms. Bondi, a fellow Republican. Even as he has denied trying to do so in this instance, he has boasted brazenly and repeatedly during his presidential campaign that he has made copious campaign contributions over the past two decades, including to Hillary Clinton and other Democrats, in order to buy access and consideration for his business dealings.

Politicians in Florida, which Mr. Trump considers his second home, have been among his leading beneficiaries. An analysis of public records shows he has contributed at least $375,000 to state and federal candidates and political committees here since 1995, accounting for 19 percent of the roughly $2 million he has given to campaigns nationwide, other than his own.

Although not unprecedented, his $25,000 gift to And Justice for All, the committee supporting Ms. Bondi, is among his largest.

What is more, when Mr. Trump wrote that check, he still theoretically had reason to be concerned that Florida’s attorney general could become a player in the legal assault on Trump University.

Through 2010, when the company ceased operations, Florida had been one of the most lucrative markets for his unaccredited for-profit school. It ranked second among states in purchases, with 950 transactions, and third in sales, at $3.3 million, according to an analysis of sales data revealed in court filings.

The lawsuit by New York’s Democratic attorney general, Eric T. Schneiderman, which was announced on Aug. 25, 2013 — two weeks before Mr. Trump wrote the check to And Justice for All on Sept. 9 — did not cite allegations from consumers in Florida. But news organizations had reported as early as 2010 that the attorneys general of Florida and Texas had fielded complaints from consumers who had paid up to $35,000 for Mr. Trump’s seminars and mentoring programs. His contribution, therefore, could have been a pre-emptive investment to discourage Ms. Bondi from joining the New York case.

Brian Ballard, Mr. Trump’s lobbyist in Florida, said it was “ridiculous” to think his client sought to buy off Ms. Bondi. “I’m the Trump Organization lobbyist, and he has never, ever brought up Trump University with me,” he said. “It wasn’t something of concern to him. With Donald Trump, if a friend calls up and says, ‘Listen, I’m running for XYZ, could you help me?’ his instinct is to say yes. That’s all it was.”

Yet, even those who doubt anything nefarious between Mr. Trump and Ms. Bondi acknowledge that they bear blame for the intensifying focus on the appearance of a conflict.

For his part, Mr. Trump fanned the embers by sending the contribution from his nonprofit foundation, which cannot under federal law make political donations. When questions arose this year, he agreed to refund $25,000 to the foundation from his personal account and pay a $2,500 penalty to the Internal Revenue Service. Trump officials have called the mix-up an inadvertent error by his staff.

Ms. Bondi, meanwhile, has failed to explain why she accepted Mr. Trump’s check even after learning that her office was examining the New York case against Trump University. Six months later, she allowed him to host a $3,000-per-head fund-raiser for her at his Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach. Mr. Trump attended the event, which records indicate raised at least $50,000.

Now, with the revelation of the date on Mr. Trump’s check — which came in a release of correspondence by Mr. Schneiderman — it appears that Mr. Trump and Ms. Bondi had in their possession a piece of favorable evidence that they bewilderingly failed to disclose.

“All these things come together in a way that if you don’t unpack the whole thing, the unspoken implications coalesce to create this great suspicion,” said Mac Stipanovich, a longtime Florida Republican strategist and lobbyist who disdains Mr. Trump and has never worked with Ms. Bondi. “The optics are terrible even though there is not a shred of evidence that Pam Bondi solicited a bribe or that Donald Trump provided one.”

Mr. Trump and Ms. Bondi have said they share a long friendship, but the origins of it are not apparent. Ms. Bondi, who declined requests for an interview, initially backed former Gov. Jeb Bush of Florida for president. After he withdrew from the race, she endorsed Mr. Trump the day before Florida’s March 15 primary, snubbing the state’s other favorite son, Senator Marco Rubio. The only woman currently holding statewide elected office in Florida, she has since become an enthusiastic Trump surrogate.

Ms. Bondi became a conservative darling in 2010 when, as an assistant state attorney, she won her post in her first campaign of any kind. Her political future is unclear as she faces a two-term limit and has said she will not run for governor in 2018.

It was in late summer 2013, as her re-election campaign was gearing up, that Ms. Bondi called Mr. Trump to solicit the donation, aides to both of them have said; they have declined to provide a precise date. Records show that Mr. Trump had already donated $500 to Ms. Bondi’s campaign on July 15. His daughter Ivanka Trump donated another $500 on Sept. 10.

The Texas attorney general’s office, then under Greg Abbott, a Republican, had also decided in 2010 not to act on complaints against Trump University when it left the state. Mr. Trump later donated $35,000 to Mr. Abbott’s successful 2014 campaign for governor. Mr. Abbott’s office has denied there was any connection. No other attorneys general have joined Mr. Schneiderman’s litigation.

Both Mr. Trump and Ms. Bondi have said they never discussed complaints against Trump University and a separate entity, Trump Institute, which Mr. Trump did not own but that paid him licensing fees to use his name for wealth seminars held in hotel ballrooms.

There is no evidence in more than 8,000 pages of documents released by Ms. Bondi’s office in response to an open records request that she had any direct role in assessing a potential case against Trump University, or that she knew of the Florida complaints when she asked Mr. Trump for money.

That would not be unusual. Although most of the complaints were received before Ms. Bondi’s election, her predecessor, Bill McCollum, said he had never heard about them. His two top deputies and the chief lawyer and investigator in his consumer protection division each said in interviews that the complaints never reached their level.

“For whatever reason, the synergy didn’t exist before I left office,” said Mr. McCollum, who received a $500 donation from Mr. Trump in 2006.

Tens of thousands of consumer allegations are lodged with Florida’s attorney general each year on everything from used-car sales to pharmaceutical marketing to price gouging. The consumer protection division currently has 38 lawyers and 37 investigators. Limits on manpower and resources mean that most complaints do not prompt a formal probe and therefore do not come to the attorney general’s attention, former officials said.

Mr. McCollum’s deputy, Robert Hannah, and his consumer protection chief, Mary Leontakianakos, said the triage process took into account the quantity, veracity and seriousness of the complaints, as well as the number of Floridians affected and the potential to collect damages. Mr. Hannah said that “20 would not be the number of complaints that would cause someone to get concerned.”

The complaints against Trump University continued once Ms. Bondi took over, albeit at a slower pace because Trump University, as well as Trump Institute, based in Boca Raton, Fla., were no longer operating.

In April 2011, Elizabeth J. Starr, then the chief of consumer protection in the Orlando office, wrote in an internal email that she had “light discussion” about devoting additional resources to assessing the Trump complaints. “The decision was made to hold off at that time,” she wrote.

In the weeks after the initial September 2013 article in The Sentinel, Ms. Bondi received daily emails from her staff to her personal Yahoo address with news reports about the Trump case. By mid-October, Scott Maxwell, a columnist for The Sentinel, had spotted Mr. Trump’s $25,000 donation in public filings and wrote that it smelled “awfully fishy.” His column set off days of critical coverage.

Despite the pressure, Mark Hamilton, a lawyer in the consumer protection division who eventually had a discussion with an attorney prosecuting the New York case, pushed his view internally that already-announced litigation would cover any Floridians who had been harmed by Trump University. Within two days, The Miami Herald reported that Ms. Bondi’s spokeswoman had said no action would be necessary because the affected Florida consumers would be compensated if Mr. Schneiderman won his lawsuit.

Mr. Trump also weighed in for the same article.

“Pam Bondi is a fabulous representative of the people — Florida is lucky to have her,” he said in a statement. “The case in New York is pure politics brought by an incompetent attorney general, a political hack.”
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Man, facts sure do make for a well documented hit piece. TL/DR he personally signed the payola check...

#201 Rashmon, Sep 20, 2016
Last edited: Sep 20, 2016

RocketsLegend Member

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Rashmon doesn't care about media manipulation as long as they're go after the right person.

#202 RocketsLegend, Sep 20, 2016
Rashmon Member

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RocketsLegend said: ↑

Rashmon doesn't care about media manipulation as long as they're go after the right person.
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You would be correct.

Trump does not deserve to be in consideration for the presidency of this great nation.

#203 Rashmon, Sep 20, 2016
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Rashmon said: ↑

You would be correct.

Trump does not deserve to be in consideration for the presidency of this great nation.
Click to expand...

so you're saying this great country deserves a lying, corrupt politician who would sell this country to the highest bidder?

#204 RocketsLegend, Sep 20, 2016
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Rashmon said: ↑

You would be correct.

Trump does not deserve to be in consideration for the presidency of this great nation.
Click to expand...

and you just admit you're fine with being lied to. You are a pathetic human being. I bet your wife cheats on you and you're fine with that too.

#205 RocketsLegend, Sep 20, 2016
Rashmon Member

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RocketsLegend said: ↑

so you're saying this great country deserves a lying, corrupt politician who would sell this country to the highest bidder?
Click to expand...

You're describing Trump.

#206 Rashmon, Sep 20, 2016
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RocketsLegend said: ↑

and you just admit you're fine with being lied to. You are a pathetic human being. I bet your wife cheats on you and you're fine with that too.
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At this point I'm just fine with someone who has nuanced policy information and has experience with foreign diplomacy. Pretty freaking low bar but that's what Trump does. He lowers the bar on what is deemed acceptable.

#207 fchowd0311, Sep 21, 2016

RocketsLegend Member

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CNN is fake news

#208 RocketsLegend, Jan 13, 2017
Sweet Lou 4 2 Member

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D&D has been invaded by low-information people.

#209 Sweet Lou 4 2, Jan 13, 2017

joshuaao and FranchiseBlade like this.
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Sweet Lou 4 2 said: ↑

D&D has been invaded by low-information people.
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Yep. D&D is very liberal heavy.

#210 Falcons Talon, Jan 13, 2017

cml750, Space Ghost and Astrodome like this.
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RocketsLegend said: ↑

CNN is fake news
Click to expand...

If you are going to parrot Trump speaking points you are supposed to put them in all caps followed by an ! ...

#211 NewRoxFan, Jan 13, 2017
bigtexxx Member

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In all seriousness, CNN took a massive credibility hit through this election. They're certainly viewed as a heavy left-leaning site for news, rather than more centrist.

#212 bigtexxx, Jan 13, 2017

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Fake news? No

Biased news? Yes (same as Fox. Just pick your flavor).

#213 Chilly_Pete, Jan 13, 2017

Sweet Lou 4 2 Member

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Falcons Talon said: ↑

Yep. D&D is very liberal heavy.
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Only in your world are stupid people hailed as great conservatives.

we live in the age where being impartial is now considered to be a liberal bias.

#214 Sweet Lou 4 2, Jan 13, 2017
Last edited: Jan 13, 2017
Sweet Lou 4 2 Member

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bigtexxx said: ↑

In all seriousness, CNN took a massive credibility hit through this election. They're certainly viewed as a heavy left-leaning site for news, rather than more centrist.
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Poster with lowest credibility on BBS talks about credibility. Typical Trumpite

#215 Sweet Lou 4 2, Jan 13, 2017
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Sweet Lou 4 2 said: ↑

Only in your world are stupid people hailed as great conservatives.
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You sound like an imbecile, but that's nothing new.

#216 Falcons Talon, Jan 13, 2017

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Falcons Talon said: ↑

You sound like an imbecile, but that's nothing new.
Click to expand...

Yeah, get that anger off your chest. You have no substance other than to quote your beibert talking points like the drone you are. Keep lying to yourself.

#217 Sweet Lou 4 2, Jan 13, 2017
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Sweet Lou 4 2 said: ↑

Yeah, get that anger off your chest. You have no substance other than to quote your beibert talking points like the drone you are. Keep lying to yourself.
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Anger? Hahahahaha...Angry about what? Obama is on his way out and Hilary lost in Hilaryous fashion. That makes me smile, and you make me laugh. Anger? Far from it.

I am amazed that someone as amazingly intelligent as you is squandering his time here instead of solving all the world's problems.

BTW, you have not pegged me yet, and you really take yourself wayyyy too serious.

#218 Falcons Talon, Jan 13, 2017
Last edited: Jan 13, 2017

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CNN reported that Obama, Biden, And Trump were briefed about intelligence gathering. That's what CNN reported

#219 across110thstreet, Jan 13, 2017

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Falcons Talon said: ↑

Anger? Hahahahaha...Angry about what? Obama is on his way out and Hilary lost in Hilaryous fashion. That makes me smile, and you make me laugh. Anger? Far from it.

I am amazed that someone as amazingly intelligent as you is squandering his time here instead of solving all the world's problems.

BTW, you have not pegged me yet, and you really take yourself wayyyy too serious.
Click to expand...

Yes, you are a very angry man. You know that, and I am sure you have had outbursts in your life before. Denying it on here doesn't matter to me, it's obvious from your posting style.

#220 Sweet Lou 4 2, Jan 13, 2017

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