Trump admits he bribes politicians = Bondi owes Floridians answers about Donald Trump ties

[L. Coyote]

A prosecutor needs to follow up and charges Trump, Bondi, and Abbott with criminal offenses.

How can you run for President and admit you are a felon at the same time? Easy, if you are a Republican and your followers only care about winning.

Are billionaires too rich to arrest? Donald Trump has given more than $1 million to politicians.

Editorial: Bondi owes Floridians answers about Donald Trump ties
Tuesday, June 7, 2016

Attorney General Pam Bondi needs to explain why she appears more willing to look out for Donald Trump than consumers as the state's chief legal officer. News reports detailing how she personally asked Trump to contribute to her campaign and, after receiving the check, declined to pursue fraud allegations against Trump University and its affiliates raise serious questions about her judgment. Bondi, who has endorsed Trump for president, owes Floridians some direct answers.

The Associated Press reported this week that Bondi solicited a political contribution from Trump around the time her office considered joining an investigation of alleged fraud at Trump University and its affiliates. The $25,000 came from a Trump family foundation, in apparent violation of rules governing charitable activities, and was received by a political group backing Bondi's re-election in September 2013. Days earlier, Bondi had publicly announced that Florida was considering joining a New York investigation into the activities of Trump University.

A Bondi spokesman told the AP that Bondi spoke with Trump "several weeks" before her office publicly announced it was deliberating whether to join a lawsuit proposed by New York's attorney general. The spokesman said Bondi was unaware at the time of dozens of complaints her office had received about Trump University. After the money came in, Bondi's office decided against joining the lawsuit. The timing looks awful, Bondi's not talking and public faith in government has taken another hit.

The Orlando Sentinel fleshed out more details. .........

Trump Proudly ADMITS He Buys Politicians — Including Almost Everyone On Stage With Him (VIDEO)
http://www.ifyouonlynews.com/politics/trump-proudly-admits-he-buys-politicians-including-almost-everyone-on-stage-with-him-video/

Trump Boasts about His History of Bribing Politicians
http://www.nationalreview.com/article/430266/donald-trump-bribery-politicians-hillary-clinton-robert-menendez-solomon-melgen

Here are the politicians Donald Trump has 'bought'
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/here-are-the-politicians-donald-trump-has--bought-150256782.html

Greg Abbott’s Trump Problem
http://www.texasmonthly.com/burka-blog/greg-abbotts-trump-problem/

[annabanana]

1. Lots of fodder here!

Now that he has "endeared himself" to just about the entire media, I expect that there will be some digging in earnest!

[tallahasseedem]

2. Bondi has been bought and sold for years...

of course, that is how Florida has always worked. I still can't believe what is going on down there...I got out 6 years ago right before they "elected" Scott.

[Kingofalldems]

3. Kick this up for all the Trumpies.

[yeoman6987]

4. It is a civil case. Maybe she thought it was not worthwhile putting it on the docket

If it was criminal case, different story. It's not!

[L. Coyote]

5. FL AG Personally Solicited Donation from Trump Before Dropping Trump University Fraud Investigation

Florida AG Personally Solicited Donation from Trump Before Dropping Trump University Fraud Investigation

Florida’s attorney general, Pam Bondi, has confirmed that she personally solicited a political contribution from Donald Trump at the time her office was considering prosecuting Trump University for fraud, the Associated Press reports. A Trump family foundation gave a nonprofit controlled by Bondi $25,000, and Bondi dropped the case. ............

[L. Coyote]

6. Pam Bondi’s chief deputy leaves for private practice

Will Trump serve time?

Pam Bondi’s chief deputy leaves for private practice

Chief Deputy Attorney General Tyler Cathey is leaving Pam Bondi‘s office for private practice, her office announced Wednesday.

“I want to thank Tyler for his service as my Chief Deputy and congratulate him on his new role as Chief Operating Officer and General Counsel at a Tampa-based nationwide commercial real estate and financial services firm,” Bondi said in a statement.

The departure comes as Bondi takes fire for her part in a $25,000 campaign contribution to her 2014 re-election from a charitable foundation controlled by GOP presumptive nominee Donald Trump.

The gift broke IRS rules because charities are prohibited from giving to campaigns. ...............

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

7. He can't bribe anyone, unless that person is being bribed.

I don't see anyone claiming to have accepted bribes.

A political contribution is not necessarily a bribe, though it can sometimes look that way.

[spanone]

8. this asshole needs to go away. get thee gone....

fuckwad.

[L. Coyote]

9. One person defending Bondi, another defending Trump. Gee, I wonder why?

Texas Gov. Abbott Received $35,000 Donation from Trump After Dropping Trump University Investigation
June 2, 2016 by Susan Wright

Remember Pam Bondi, the Florida Attorney General who failed to open up an investigation into fraud charges against Trump University in 2013, only to have it discovered that in September of that year, the Donald J. Trump Foundation had donated $25,000 to her PAC?

Yeah. She wasn’t the only one, but she got short-changed, it appears. Maybe she could have held out for more.

The Associated Press is reporting that Texas Governor Greg Abbott received a $35,000 donation to his gubernatorial campaign from Trump, sometime after dropping a probe into Trump University, back in 2010, when Abbott was still the Texas Attorney General.

From twcnews.com:

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.

.......

Friday, Jun 3, 2016 07:08 AM PDT
Trump University scandal looking more like corruption? Trump made political donations to attorneys general who dropped investigations
The top Republican prosecutors in Texas and Florida dismissed complaints against Trump's scam after receiving funds

During the first Republican primary debate last August, Donald Trump outlined his model of success as a businessman and real estate mogul dealing with political bureaucracies, in an effort to explain away his past political donations to Democrats — including Hillary Clinton — and call out American campaign finance as corrupt.

“I was a businessman, I give to everybody. When they call, I give. And you know what? When I need something from them, two years later, three years later, I call them, and they are there for me”

.....................

According to the former deputy director of Texas’ Consumer Protection Division, Abbott’s decision to drop the case was clearly motivated by Trump’s political involvement.

“The decision not to sue him was political,” John Owens told The Dallas Morning News. “Had [Trump] not been involved in politics to the extent he was at the time, we would have gotten approval. Had he been just some other scam artist, we would have sued him”:

According to internal documents provided to The News about the state’s investigation into Trump University, the consumer protection division filed a formal request May 6, 2010, to sue both Trump and his namesake real estate program. Five days later, it set out settlement options to help Texas taxpayers get back the more than $2.6 million they spent on seminars and materials, plus another $2.8 million in penalties and fees.

Both requests were denied, an unusual decision, Owens says, that was made at the top of the agency.

“The refusal of the administration to do anything stunk,” said Owens, a career state employee who worked under three attorneys general and received a commendation for having “greatly contributed to the accomplishments of our office” from Abbott upon his retirement in 2011.

“We routinely got approval to sue people. We routinely went after bogus schools that offered false diplomas,” he added.

[…]

According to Texas investigators, Trump University hadn’t completed paperwork necessary to even do business in Texas.

Investigators were scheduled to meet with Trump representatives on May 19, 2010, to pitch the $5.4 million settlement proposal. That meeting never took place, Owens said. Instead, the division received “verbal notification” that the investigation and the lawsuit were over.

..............

[HuckleB]

10. K & R!

[modestybl]

11. And HRC is open to be bribed by the donor class.

They exemplify opposite sides of the same coin - a corrupted political system.

[winstars]

13. Who is this HRC that I keep seeing people refer to so negatively here on DEMOCRATIC UNDERGROUND?

[ArcticFox]

24. some of us are sick and tired of the lies and sell-outs

"Democrat" or "republican", there's no integrity left.

[winstars]

27. Thanks for that information.

[packman]

12. As a Floridian I can state- Bondi and Scott are evil incarnate

They are joined at the hip, a festering hip of corruption . Scott may be beyond the reach of justice in this world (I hope I am wrong) , but Bondi should be in jail.

[lupinella]

16. Another Floridian here

in perfect agreement with you.

There is so much wrong with our state's government, it is frightening. Hopefully this will be investigated thoroughly.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

20. There are a lot of things wrong about our otherwise great state.

And almost all of them have to do with the people leading it.

[lark]

14. Think Voldemort gives a damn?

Hell no. He's done far worse. They probably High 5'd over this. Neither one has a shred of morality.

[L. Coyote]

15. I wonder how much money he has hidden from the IRS?

[RoccoR5955]

17. Bribary is no longer illegal.

We live in a fascist oligarchy. Get the idea that we live in a democratic republic out of your head. It is no longer so.

[L. Coyote]

19. Bribery is illegal.

We live in a democracy. Voting is not futile. We decide if the fascist oligarchs get power or not.

[RoccoR5955]

21. Dream on.

Buy into their propaganda, or wake up and see the light.

[L. Coyote]

26. So we should all consider ourselves powerless, and it is futile to vote? NOT.

My Senators are Wyden and Merkley because we voted for them. That's what a democracy is all about. We don't always like the majority's choices, but that isn't disempowering if you don't suffer from despair.

[ArcticFox]

25. wake up

[salin]

34. just trumped up faux charges against a Democratic Governor

Why is Seigleman still in prison?

[malaise]

18. Calls grow for Trump-Bondi investigation

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/politics/os-bondi-trump-donation-investigation-20160608-story.html
<snip>
Even as another Democratic state lawmaker called for an investigation of a campaign donation given by Donald Trump to Attorney General Pam Bondi, questions arose Wednesday about who would conduct such a probe.

State Sen. Dwight Bullard, D-Miami, wrote to U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch asking the Department of Justice to look into the matter.

"There have been many questions surrounding claims of fraud at Trump University," Bullard stated. "There is even a greater concern of whether a quid pro quo exists within the office for favorable treatment in exchange for campaign assistance."

[lark]

22. Whoohoo

Bring on the Justice Dept.

[monmouth4]

30. Hopefully this will be the beginning of the end for her running for Florida Governor..n/t

[malaise]

32. I'd like to see more on Texas

as well

[monmouth4]

33. Oh me too. This is an ongoing saga, no doubt..n/t

[ArcticFox]

23. so sad

Top think that a mere $25K contribution can get you off. So lawyers are superfluous now. Prosecutors are so cheaply bought?

[Loge23]

31. There's probably more - much more.

$25K is just the tip. Pam's at Mar-a-Lago, Pam's all goo-goo eyes with Trump, Pam's looking the other way on Trump U. - there are material considerations here as well, maybe even physical ones.
Trump's a sucker for a dumb blond, after all.

[malaise]

28. Bump this thread

We knew - ages ago

[Person 2713]

29. Rec

[annabanana]

35. Ah, L. Coyote

You are a DU treasure!

kickety