Attorney General’s Conflict of Interest

Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi endorsed Donald Trump. This isn’t news because Bondi became the first big-name Republican official in the state to endorse Donald Trump for president, but instead of reported bribes from 3 years ago.

In the fall of 2013, Bondi was preparing for a re-election bid and a for-profit college called Trump University had just been sued by New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman. The lawsuit alleged that Trump University had “scammed” more than 5,000 people out of more than $40 million by falsely promising to teach them the tools to Trump’s real estate success.

With media scrutiny mounting, the Donald J. Trump Foundation that September contributed $25,000 to Bondi’s campaign.

Bondi never followed New York’s lead in taking action against Trump and Trump University. Although there were complaints in Florida, the state never opened an investigation.

Reality

On Sept. 14, 2013, the Sentinel quoted a spokeswoman for Bondi who said that Florida’s attorney general was studying the New York lawsuit to see whether she wanted to take action in Florida as well.

Three days later, on Sept. 17, 2013, Trump’s foundation cut a $25,000 check to a committee associated with Bondi’s campaign. It was one of the largest checks that her “And Justice for All” PAC had received.

Bondi soon dropped her investigation, citing insufficient grounds to proceed.

This was clearly a bribe.

Media

Links

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics-government/election/article65995972.html

http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2016/03/14/3760061/pam-bondi-donald-trump-trump-university/