Trump gets caught lying about his charitable foundation

[babylonsister]

Posted with permission.

http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/trump-gets-caught-lying-about-his-charitable-foundation?cid=sm_fb_msnbc

Trump gets caught lying about his charitable foundation
12/27/16 09:20 AM
By Steve Benen


If Donald Trump intends to take his conflict-of-interest troubles seriously, that would be an important step in the right direction. The president-elect, however, appears to be missing the point of his problem.

President-elect Donald Trump announced Saturday that he would dissolve his namesake foundation to avoid any potential conflict of interest during his time as president.

The plan may quickly run into a snag, however.

“The Trump Foundation is still under investigation by this office and cannot legally dissolve until that investigation is complete,” New York Attorney General spokesperson Amy Spitalnick said in a statement released Saturday.

In a statement, Trump said he would close his controversial charitable foundation “to avoid even the appearance of any conflict” with his role as president. But when it comes to Trump’s conflicts, his foundation was hardly at the top of the list of concerns: it’s his for-profit enterprises that are the basis for most of the controversies.

And since Trump can’t dissolve an entity while it’s still under investigation, even this half-step may not happen.

The president-elect nevertheless seems eager to talk about the end of his scandal-plagued foundation, arguing via Twitter last night that “all” of the money it raised was “given to charity.” He added soon after that “100%” of the millions raised went to “wonderful charities.”

We know Trump’s lying, in part because the Trump Foundation has already admitted that some of its money covered non-charitable expenses.

Trump used foundation money to buy giant portraits of himself. Trump used foundation money to make illegal campaign contributions. Trump used foundation money to settle private-sector lawsuits. Trump used foundation money to support conservative political entities that could help further his partisan ambitions.

A month ago, the Trump Foundation admitted in official documents that “it violated a legal prohibition against ‘self-dealing,’ which bars nonprofit leaders from using their charity’s money to help themselves, their businesses or their families.” The materials, filed with the IRS, were signed by Trump himself – so it’s not as if he can credibly claim he had no idea what was going on.

In other words, when Trump boasted last night that “100%” of the money raised by his foundation went to “wonderful charities,” it was one of the president-elect’s more obvious lies.

Indeed, what’s alarming about Trump’s latest deception is how brazen it is. The president-elect knows his claims are false, and he must realize that anyone with a passing familiarity with current events knows it, too. But Trump just doesn’t care about getting caught lying, in part because his followers don’t care, in part because he’s counting on news organizations to push back against his lies with kid gloves, and in part because he assumes much of the public will reject any evidence published by journalists.

The more inclined Trump is to keep this up-is-down experiment going, the more mind-numbing the next four years are going to be.

[marylandblue]

1. Trump has been brazenly lying all along

Why is this one more alarming than all the others?

[progressoid]

2. Trump gets caught lying about ........

fill in the blank on a daily basis.

[SaschaHM]

3. Title should read: Journalists do their job. Learn that water is wet.

That's not to make light of the fact that he ran a self-dealing charity for both his ego and his own personal financial benefit. He has been lying about the foundation since this summer and folks like David F. have been catching him on it.

[gratuitous]

4. Very odd

The popular media had no trouble whatsoever latching onto that lying account about the squeaky clean Clinton Foundation, fashioning a stove-piped contraption that would do Rube Goldberg proud in alleging that Hillary Clinton personally profited from the Clinton Foundation.

With the Trump Foundation, there are well-documented examples of self-dealing, self-aggrandizing, and illegal disbursements, illegalities plain on their face. Yet the popular media can't bring themselves to the point of calling Trump a fraud, even after he paid out $25 million to settle the Trump University class actions. "Lying Donald"? "Crooked Donald"? Nope, they can't see their way clear to telling it like it is. But boy, can they parrot every stupid thing that falls out of Trump's mouth or crosses his mindless Twitter account.

[malaise]

5. M$Greedia are part of the problem

a big part

[gratuitous]

6. And then they have the nerve to complain

Not just MSNBC, but a lot of other media outlets are all upset now that after they sold their credibility for short-term profits, nobody seems to believe what they have to say anymore, even when they're super serial!

[kacekwl]

14. News is now 15 minutes of goggle headlines,weather,sports and the

rest celebrity humping books,movies what ever. Cooking demos and screaming fans waving signs at some dimwit walking around outside telling us who's birthday it is.

[TimeToGo]

8. So true

[TygrBright]

7. Whoopee. Like "Trump gets caught lying" is gonna change anything? n/t

[retrowire]

9. This.

Honestly, everytime I see a post on DU now about how "Omg look at what Trump did" or "CAUGHT! Trump did this!" I just shake my head and smile.

He will NEVER be held accountable for his actions. Ever. This is what rich white men are blessed with.

[Plucketeer]

10. If his lips are moving

He's LYING.

[Initech]

11. Is there anything that he doesn't lie about?

Last edited Tue Dec 27, 2016, 08:51 PM - Edit history (1)

[Wounded Bear]

12. I'm waiting for the "Trump caught telling the truth" headline...

That will be something to report on.

[justhanginon]

13. But, but, but, Kellyanne assured me it was 100% and I know

she wouldn't lie to me.

Except maybe like a friggin' rug!

[paleotn]

15. Were his lips moving?

Well, there ya go.


I guess he isn't smart enough to realize that crimes don't just go away when you close your criminal enterprise.

[dreamland]

16. How many lies does this make?

He lies time and time again, with no repercussion to show? Why are they so forgiving to this orange-ape?