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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WHO DOESN’T LOVE A POSITIVE STORY—OR TWO?

“Great journalism really does make a difference in this world: it can even save kids.”

That’s what a civil rights lawyer wrote to Julia Lurie, the day after her major investigation into a psychiatric hospital chain that uses foster children as “cash cows” published, letting her know he was using her findings that same day in a hearing to keep a child out of one of the facilities we investigated.

That’s awesome. As is the fact that Julia, who spent a full year reporting this challenging story, promptly heard from a Senate committee that will use her work in their own investigation of Universal Health Services. There’s no doubt her revelations will continue to have a big impact in the months and years to come.

Like another story about Mother Jones’ real-world impact.

This one, a multiyear investigation, published in 2021, exposed conditions in sugar work camps in the Dominican Republic owned by Central Romana—the conglomerate behind brands like C&H and Domino, whose product ends up in our Hershey bars and other sweets. A year ago, the Biden administration banned sugar imports from Central Romana. And just recently, we learned of a previously undisclosed investigation from the Department of Homeland Security, looking into working conditions at Central Romana. How big of a deal is this?

“This could be the first time a corporation would be held criminally liable for forced labor in their own supply chains,” according to a retired special agent we talked to.

Wow.

And it is only because Mother Jones is funded primarily by donations from readers that we can mount ambitious, yearlong—or more—investigations like these two stories that are making waves.

About that: It’s unfathomably hard in the news business right now, and we came up about $28,000 short during our recent fall fundraising campaign. We simply have to make that up soon to avoid falling further behind than can be made up for, or needing to somehow trim $1 million from our budget, like happened last year.

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