AP: Greg Abbott Given $35K Campaign Donation by Trump after Trump University Probe Dropped

[CPUd]

AP: Greg Abbott Given $35K Campaign Donation by Trump after Trump University Probe Dropped

WASHINGTON -- Texas Gov. Greg Abbott received a $35,000 donation to his successful gubernatorial campaign from Donald Trump. This after a Texas probe into Trump University was dropped in 2010, according to the Associated Press.

The AP reported that Abbott, a Republican, was serving as Texas Attorney General at the time, and opened a civil investigation of "possibly deceptive trade practices" into Trump University, but quietly dropped it when the organization agreed to end its operations in Texas.

Trump subsequently donated $35,000 to Abbott's successful gubernatorial campaign, according to records obtained by the AP.

The AP reported that a spokesman for Abbott declined to comment.

Trump University guides unsealed this week by a federal judge in southern California undercut Trump's portrayal of his one-time real estate seminar course as an uncontroversial operation. Instead, the manuals reflect boiler-room sales tactics -- the proceeds of which went largely to Trump.

The manual for the staff at Trump University events was precise: The room temperature should be 68 degrees. Seats should be arranged in a theater-style curve. And government prosecutors had no right to see any documents without a warrant.

Instructing employees how to stall law enforcement investigations might seem like an unusual part of running a real estate seminar company. But at Trump University -- which drew investigations by Democratic and Republican attorneys general alike -- it was par for the course.

One guide encouraged staff to learn prospective enrollees' motivations in order to better sell them on products: "Are they a single parent of three children that may need money for food?" the guide asked. When people balked at paying for expensive courses, the suggested response for Trump University staff was harsh.

"I find it very difficult to believe you'll invest in anything else if you don't believe enough to invest in yourself and your education," the guide offered as a recommended response.

Those who bought into Trump University ended up paying as much as $34,995 for what was purported to be private mentoring with supposed real estate experts -- some of whom Trump himself later acknowledged were unqualified.

"It's fraud. ... straight-up fraud," said New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman during an MSNBC interview on Thursday morning.

Schneiderman is suing Trump over Trump University in separate but similar case.

"He was clearly in charge of pitching this scam university to people," said Schneiderman.

With past Trump-affiliated business failures and controversies, Trump has often distanced himself by noting that his only financial involvement was a branding agreement. In the case of Trump University, however, Trump's ownership is not in dispute — Trump wanted the business for himself.

When future Trump University President Michael Sexton pitched Trump on the deal, he wanted to pay Trump a flat fee in a licensing deal. Trump rejected that, Sexton said in a deposition.

Trump "felt this was a very good business, and he wanted to put his own money into it," said Sexton, who ended up receiving $250,000 a year from Trump to run a business in which Trump held more than a 90 percent stake. The design of the Trump University operating agreement "was entirely in the hands of the Trump legal team," Sexton said.

Other court records and depositions showed that Trump and senior members of the Trump Organization were responsible for reviewing and signing all checks — and that Trump withdrew at least $2 million from the business.

Trump reviewed the advertising for Trump University's courses, Sexton said. And he did not believe Trump ever looked at what the three-day seminars included.

"Mr. Trump is not going to go through a 300-page, you know, binder of content," Sexton said.

The impression of Trump's involvement given to potential customers was quite different, according to a script for Trump University telemarketers.

"You know who my boss is, right?" the script reads. "Mr. Trump is on a mission to create the next wave of independently wealthy entrepreneurs in America. Is that YOU?"

Trump has defended Trump University by citing surveys in which 98 percent of students reported being pleased with the program. But those surveys took place before students had experienced the full program and were not anonymous, plaintiffs lawyers have said. A higher percentage demanded refunds later.

As scores of students complained that Trump University was a ripoff, the Better Business Bureau in 2010 gave the school a D-minus, its second-lowest grade. State regulators also began to take notice.

Besides the probe that led to Schneiderman's suit, and Abbott's investigation, Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi briefly considered joining with Schneiderman in a multi-state suit against Trump University.

Three days after Bondi's spokeswoman was quoted in local media reports as saying the office was reviewing the New York lawsuit, the Donald J. Trump Foundation made a $25,000 contribution to a political fundraising committee supporting Bondi's re-election campaign.

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

...

http://www.twcnews.com/tx/austin/po...-trump-university-probe-in-texas-dropped.html

 

[William Tell]

Abbott sucks.

 

[Zippyjuan]

Doesn't Trump argue against rich dudes trying to buy politicians? "Vote for me because I can't be bought!"

Trump has defended Trump University by citing surveys in which 98 percent of students reported being pleased with the program. But those surveys took place before students had experienced the full program and were not anonymous, plaintiffs lawyers have said. A higher percentage demanded refunds later.

As scores of students complained that Trump University was a ripoff, the Better Business Bureau in 2010 gave the school a D-minus, its second-lowest grade. State regulators also began to take notice.

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/12/us/politics/donald-trump-trump-university.html?_r=0

At Trump University, Students Recall Pressure to Give Positive Reviews

Robert Guillo gave a glowing evaluation to his instructor at Trump University because, he said, the teacher pleaded for the best possible score, warning that without it, “Mr. Trump might not invite me back to teach again.”

Jeffrey Tufenkian offered excellent ratings because his Trump University-assigned mentor refused to leave the room until he did so, standing “right in front of me” as he filled out the evaluation form, he said.

John Brown tried to give his Trump University teacher a poor review — but said he was talked out of it by employees of the program, who called him three times, hounding him to raise his original scores.

“Tired of the continuing phone calls,” he later testified, “I finally gave in.” His dismal marks changed to top scores, Mr. Brown said.

In the sprawling business empire of Donald J. Trump, the real estate classes that bore his name seem to occupy a tiny, insignificant corner. But the controversy and litigation now enveloping them have taken on surprising potency in the Republican presidential campaign that he is dominating.

Now, as Mr. Trump tries to fend off claims of misleading and fraudulent practices from scores of former students, claims his opponents have brought up in debates and in ads, his biggest weapon is what appears to be the overwhelmingly positive reviews from past participants — a 98 percent level of satisfaction, in his telling. “Beautiful statements,” is how he describes the evaluations.

But hundreds of pages of legal documents, as well as interviews with former students and instructors, suggest the surveys themselves were a central component of a business model that, according to lawsuits and investigators, deceived consumers into handing over thousands of dollars with tantalizing promises of riches.

Interviews and documents show that employees of Trump University at times applied pressure on students to offer favorable reviews, instructed them to fill out the forms in order to obtain their graduation certificates, and ignored standard practices used to ensure that the surveys were filled out objectively.

“It’s absolutely a con,” said Mr. Guillo, who spent $36,000 on Trump University classes and later requested a refund. “The role of the evaluations were a defense against any legal actions. They anticipated those actions.”

At the same time, students and their lawyers have raised doubts about Mr. Trump’s claim of 98 percent satisfaction. A website set up to defend Trump University, 98percentapproval.com, has published 10,000 student evaluations, but not all of them were from paying students. They include some from the more than 3,000 free guests that paying participants were encouraged to bring to the classes. More than 2,000 other students never made it to the end of their courses — they sought and received refunds before the end of their classes, as company policy allowed, according to court records.

 

[phill4paul]

Dayum, Sorenson got more than double that from Ron Paul, Inc. What a cheap fugger. Ron Paul, Inc. shouldn't have put Trump on their bad side. He could have made a better deal than Benton, Tate and Kesari.

 

[RandallFan]

Abbott was not going to lose the primary or general. This was just bromance money.

Dewhurst was the only one in trouble at the time.

 

[enhanced_deficit]

Are media owners helping coverup Trump University scandal same way they helped HRC/dronegangsta in Benghazi coverup?

http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showth...-helping-in-Trump-University-scandal-coverup&

 

[juleswin]

Are media owners helping coverup Trump University scandal same way they helped HRC/dronegangsta in Benghazi coverup?

http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showth...-helping-in-Trump-University-scandal-coverup&

Hillary's crimes were done in the service to the state, its a National security lie vs street level con artist. The govt can afford to rat out the latter and forgive the former. I am sure even you would understand

And the media works for the govt. A better question is this, did the media push this con artist on the republican party knowing that they have this very embarrassing civil(I think also criminal) case to push after he got the nomination?

 

[CPUd]

Here's another one from FL:

Trump's $25K to A.G. Bondi merits probe

...

Three years ago, Pam Bondi's office was looking into claims from Floridians who claimed the Trump Institute — a Florida affiliate of Donald Trump's now-infamous-and-shuttered "Trump University" — had scammed them out of thousands of dollars.

Similar complaints in New York prompted its attorney general, Eric Schneiderman, to file a lawsuit, calling Trump's get-rich seminars a "bait and switch scheme."

Yet in Florida, there was no action. So the Orlando Sentinel made an inquiry, and Bondi's office vowed to look into the matter in a story that ran on Sept. 14, 2013.

Three days later, Trump's charitable foundation cut a check to a committee supporting Bondi's re-election campaign — for $25,000.
...

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/opinion/os-pam-bondi-donald-trump-scott-maxwell-20160402-column.html

 

[Jamesiv1]

Trump makes the best donations.

 

[CPUd]

 

[dannno]

Doesn't Trump argue against rich dudes trying to buy politicians? "Vote for me because I can't be bought!"

Define "argue against" ?

He knows it happens, it's called reality. He knows it leads to corruption. I don't know he has ever argued against it, per se. The Governor was bought because he needed money. Trump doesn't need money, he has money and has bought politicians - so he argues he can't be bought as a politician.

 

[William Tell]

Define "argue against" ?

Trump doesn't need money, he has money and has bought politicians - so he argues he can't be bought as a politician.

Define need money. He has always wanted more money, he hasn't needed it in years.

 

[dannno]

Define need money. He has always wanted more money, he hasn't needed it in years.

I'm just clarifying his argument to help Zippy understand, I have no idea if Trump will be a corrupt politician or not.

 

[CPUd]

Trump pays IRS a penalty for his foundation violating rules with gift to aid Florida attorney general

Donald Trump paid the IRS a $2,500 penalty this year, an official at Trump's company said, after it was revealed that Trump's charitable foundation had violated tax laws by giving a political contribution to a campaign group connected to Florida's attorney general.

The improper donation, a $25,000 gift from the Donald J. Trump Foundation, was made in 2013. At the time, Attorney General Pam Bondi was considering whether to investigate fraud allegations against Trump University. She decided not to pursue the case.

Earlier this year, The Washington Post and a liberal watchdog group raised new questions about the three-year-old gift. The watchdog group, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, filed a complaint with the IRS — noting that, as a registered nonprofit, the Trump Foundation was not allowed to make political donations.

The Post reported another error, which had the effect of obscuring the political gift from the IRS.

In that year's tax filings, The Post reported, the Trump Foundation did not notify the IRS of this political donation. Instead, Trump's foundation listed a donation — also for $25,000 — to a Kansas charity with a name similar to that of Bondi's political group. In fact, Trump's foundation had not given the Kansas group any money.

The prohibited gift was, in effect, replaced with an innocent-sounding but nonexistent donation.

Trump's business said it was unaware of any of these mistakes until March, when it heard from the watchdog group and The Post.

On Thursday, Jeffrey McConney — senior vice president and controller at the Trump Organization — said that after being notified, Trump filed paperwork informing the IRS of the political gift and paid an excise tax equal to 10 percent of its value.

McConney said that Trump had also personally reimbursed the Trump Foundation for $25,000, covering the full value of the improper gift. McConney blamed a series of mistakes, all of them unintentional. McConney said there had been no attempt to deceive.

"It was just an honest mistake," McConney said. He added: "It wasn’t done intentionally to hide a political donation, it was just an error."

McConney said that he believed Trump had now done everything necessary to rectify the error. "We’ve done what [we] were instructed to do," he said.

[Inside The Post's search for evidence that Donald Trump gives his own money to charity]

Trump started the Donald J. Trump Foundation in the late 1980s, to give away proceeds from his book, "The Art of the Deal." He remains the foundation's president, but — in recent years — Trump has stopped putting his own money into its coffers. Tax records show no gifts from Trump himself to the foundation since 1988; it has instead received donations from a smattering of Trump's friends and business associates.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...-rules-with-gift-to-florida-attorney-general/