Dan Alexander at Forbes just published a story about how Trump used his son Eric’s children’s cancer charity to funnel money into his own pockets. An excerpt:
How Donald Trump Shifted Kids-Cancer Charity Money Into His Business
LIKE AUTUMN LEAVES, sponsored Cadillacs, Ferraris and Maseratis descend on the Trump National Golf Club in Westchester County, New York, in September for the Eric Trump Foundation golf invitational…
The best part about all this [the golf tournament to benefit St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital], according to Eric Trump, is the charity’s efficiency: Because he can get his family’s golf course for free and have most of the other costs donated, virtually all the money contributed will go toward helping kids with cancer. “We get to use our assets 100% free of charge,” Trump tells Forbes.
That’s not the case. In reviewing filings from the Eric Trump Foundation and other charities, it’s clear that the course wasn’t free–that the Trump Organization received payments for its use, part of more than $1.2 million that has no documented recipients past the Trump Organization. Golf charity experts say the listed expenses defy any reasonable cost justification for a one-day golf tournament.
Additionally, the Donald J. Trump Foundation, which has come under previous scrutiny for self-dealing and advancing the interests of its namesake rather than those of charity, apparently used the Eric Trump Foundation to funnel $100,000 in donations into revenue for the Trump Organization.
And while donors to the Eric Trump Foundation were told their money was going to help sick kids, more than $500,000 was re-donated to other charities, many of which were connected to Trump family members or interests, including at least four groups that subsequently paid to hold golf tournaments at Trump courses.
All of this seems to defy federal tax rules and state laws that ban self-dealing and misleading donors. It also raises larger questions about the Trump family dynamics and whether Eric and his brother, Don Jr., can be truly independent of their father.
Go read the whole thing. It’s not surprising, exactly — we know Trump is a corrupt, greedy shithead. It was obvious all along that he is an awful person in every respect.
But skimming off a children’s cancer hospital charity haul? That may bump him up from Galactic to Universal Shitlord status. Trump might actually be one of the worst human beings in this country who doesn’t have a death row address. Keep digging, reporters. There’s got to be a puppy mill somewhere.
Roger Moore
Why the caveat? Trump’s policies already make him a mass murderer, and his budget says he’s just getting warmed up.
Gravenstone
Not just the skimming, but the anger that his own kid would have the temerity to not charge the participants for the “privilege” of playing at a premier Trump property. Makes me hate the fucker even more that I’m actually defending the actions of his evil spawn who seems to have started with the best of intentions regarding the charity – until the old grifter got his fingers all over the pie.
Droppy
But didn’t HRC once talk to someone who asked for a favor which she didn’t end up giving him. She’s the real monster here.
Corner Stone
This nation is going to have to just face facts. Split apart and fight our way back together again. And finish the job this time.
JPL
It made me sad that Eric changed the direction of the foundation. It’s not surprising that his father wanted a cut of the deal, but it appears that Eric wants some of the cash now, also. Fahrenthold sent Eric a message asking why he lied to him. The lying is part of the trump dna.
rikyrah
They are lowlifes.
the.entire.lot.of.them.
Mnemosyne
@Gravenstone:
As I was saying in the thread below, it’s one thing to inflate the cost a little but not actually charge anything so you can have a better write-off on your taxes. It’s quite another to actually subtract that inflated charge from the donation amount before you give the donation.
SFAW
What a vile/evil fuck. The whole fucking lot of them, actually.
Lurking Canadian
My God this fucking guy. Embezzling from a charity for childhood cancer?
At TVTropes, they have one called “Kicking the dog”. This is when hacks writers have their villain do something awful just for the hell of it, so the reader knows who the villain is. I’m pretty sure stealing from dying children qualifies.
? ?? Goku (aka Junior G-Man) ? ?
And many of his supporters don’t care unfortunately. The question on my mind is this: how long has the Trump Org been doing this? Before the election? Either way, Eric and the other one should go to prison for blatantly breaking the law
Gelfling 545
Yet their taxes seem to be perpetually under “audit”. No one noticed this before now?
TenguPhule
This deficiency could be fixed.
Mnemosyne
@? ?? Goku (aka Junior G-Man) ? ?:
His supporters are all dishonest people and assume everyone else is equally dishonest. If you ask them, they will tell you that welfare queens are constantly stealing their tax money, so it’s only fair that Trump gets to keep every penny.
TenguPhule
@Corner Stone:
Alas, we are not an organized party. We’re Democrats.
donnah
My oldest son will turn 30 this weekend. It will be a special birthday for lots of reasons, but mostly because every birthday he has is a triumphant reminder to us that he survived leukemia when he was diagnosed at the age of three. Five years of chemo, three years of maintenance, and the rest lived cautiously optimistic that he’s safe.
We had the privilege of taking a Make a Wish trip to Disney World when he was well enough to travel. They paid for literally everything, including a lovely hotel suite and our travel fees and even stipends for food and gifts. I’ll never forget their kindness and generosity.
For Trump’s family to come along and steal money from a childrens’ charity is the greatest sin I can imagine. They can all burn in hell.
Mnemosyne
@Lurking Canadian:
I’ve mentioned before that I recently read a genre novel where the heroine’s long-lost father tries to blackmail her into helping him skim money from a charity that’s supposed to give money to blind paupers in Victorian England. Even within the book, the heroine starts to laugh at how over the top it is.
(I also suspect that the villain’s appearance was closely modeled on that of Julian Assange, so now I’m looking forward to a Trump clone as the villain of a new book in the next few years.)
TenguPhule
@Lurking Canadian:
If they didn’t ban real life comparisons, “Complete Monster” would have Trump as the defining image of the trope.
? ?? Goku (aka Junior G-Man) ? ?
@Mnemosyne: Methinks the melanin content has something to with that. It’s been said here many times, but his diehard supporters see themselves in Trump. He’s what they’d be if they were rich
TenguPhule
@donnah:
So just imagine what sins we’re going to find about from here on out.
Actually, don’t. No need to give yourself nightmares ahead of schedule.
Quinerly
Kids bullying in the name of Trump: buzzfeed.com/albertsamaha/kids-are-quoting-trump-to-bully-their-classmates?utm_term=.lsANpKBZx#.qtX3…
TenguPhule
@? ?? Goku (aka Junior G-Man) ? ?:
Out of shape, ignorant and a threat to all humanity?
Mnemosyne
@donnah:
The Giant Evil Corporation does a lot of charity stuff. Most likely, they sent MAW a letter detailing how much your trip cost and MAW sent them an official thank-you with that dollar amount on it that the GEC then used to get a tax break that year. Because that’s what honest companies do. They make an actual donation of their goods and services rather than charging the charity for the privilege.
TenguPhule
@? ?? Goku (aka Junior G-Man) ? ?:
Well before. There was some brilliant reporting by someone at the WaPo which broke the charity fraud stories in 2016.
Sadly, the FYNYT and company thought they should focus “ON HER EMAILZ!!!!”
Judge Crater
This is the NYC real estate way of doing business – kick-backs, suspect financing, phony deals, phony corporations, labor rip offs, labyrinthian tax structures, tax breaks and law suits brought by sleazy lawyers. It’s a swamp now being replicated in the White House.
Mnemosyne
@? ?? Goku (aka Junior G-Man) ? ?:
It doesn’t hurt. If you look at Fred Clark’s blog, Slacktivist, he has a lot of discussion about how fundamentalist Christianity is hollow at its core because the most prevalent strains were specifically created to be white supremacist in the antebellum era, and they can’t shed that ideology. It’s foundational to their beliefs.
But on a more basic level, I guarantee that if you scratch a strong Trump supporter, you will find someone who makes excuses for his or her own dishonesty because “everyone does it.”
Mnemosyne
I am so temped to email my fundie cousin and ask her how that whole “reforming Trump” thing that her preacher swore he was going to do is going.
And my BFF’s pro-life sister had better keep her mouth shut on Facebook like she’s been doing, because I will ask her how it’s “pro-life” to cut children and mothers off from healthcare.
Quinerly
19 1/2 weeks. When and how will it end? rollingstone.com/politics/features/its-time-to-demand-donald-trumps-resignation-w486080
bluefoot
@Quinerly: Right after the election, the fourth-grade daughter of a colleague was grabbed (I’ll let you imagine where) by a boy in her class. He said if the president could do it, so could he.
TenguPhule
@bluefoot:
How hard was he kicked in the crotch?
ruemara
@bluefoot: You’re kidding. I hope they went to the mat to punish him.
Jacquestrapp
I’m pretty inured to their assholery at this point but this story literally just made my stomach turn. Stealing from a kids cancer charity is something that sounds too evil for a movie villain. So maybe some of his supporters will actually notice this one.
Jeffro
@JPL: and if I remember what I read correctly Eric’s response was ” if you’re going to take that tone about my family I don’t want to talk to you anymore ”
Click
? ?? Goku (aka Junior G-Man) ? ?
@Mnemosyne:
Those people are the worst. Not everybody does it. If they did the entire system would collapse. They would probably starve to death or be killed in the chaos of a hypothetical breakdown.
One of the downsides of civilization is propping up odious idiots trying tear the whole thing down because “muh freedoms”.
And uppity darkies getting food and a pittance of welfare money. And it makes libtards mad
? ?? Goku (aka Junior G-Man) ? ?
@TenguPhule: Yup. But I have to quibble somewhat. They’re already all three!
Corner Stone
@bluefoot: I hope law enforcement was engaged at some point?
encephalopath
So Trump “donates” money to the charity, Trump Jr. pays that money back to the Trump property for services rendered for the event, and Trump claims the donation as a charitable donation tax write-off.
Does that about cover it?
Cermet
Eric, appears by my reading, to have tried to create a real charity and donate as much as possible; good for him – yes, his father forced him to take a cut but that was 1) forced on him 2) he started the charity with no such apparent intention 3) still provided many millions of dollars to the children.
Cermet
@donnah: So very glad things turned out so well for you; while I understand your hate, hell (if it existed) would be rather over the top considering but I see your anger and am not in any way saying that tRump the orange fart cloud isn’t the low of the low.
TenguPhule
@encephalopath:
You forgot the part where Trump also steals the money that actual donors made to the charity.
TenguPhule
@Jacquestrapp:
That’s the problem, movies have to make sense.
Shana
@TenguPhule: Yes.
zhena gogolia
@Droppy:
lol
Brachiator
The understated irony here is massive.
? ?? Goku (aka Junior G-Man) ? ?
cnn.com/2017/05/30/us/portland-train-teenager-stabbing-arraignment/index.html
It’s real shame he didn’t die in 2002 from that headshot. Maybe those too men he killed in cold blood would still be alive now. Hope he gets the death penalty. Never thought I’d ever type that
encephalopath
@TenguPhule:
I missed the part where they directed Cancer Charity money to other Trump family organizations when then used the money to hold events at Trump properties and pay Trump for the privilege.
Damn…
hellslittlestangel
The worst human beings all seem to live either on death row or on a Trump property.
Mike in NC
@TenguPhule: Yup, if that was written into the next Batman movie you’d call it over-the-top.
Jay B.
@Cermet:
His father skimmed at least $1.2 million from fundraised money that was ticketed to help kids with cancer. An alleged billionaire. FUCK THAT.
Cermet
@Jay B.: Agreed; and Eric overlooked that stealing (and enabled it) making him a rather bad example but none-the-less, Eric did raise many millions that went to the kids and he tried to avoid stealing any in the beginning (and appeared not to) until greedy dad the fart cloud got in on the action. tRump has never been a billionaire and isn’t worth half that. He is a low life that steals from kids with cancer and corrupts his own son to aid him in such terrible deeds – that isn’t something any father should force their child to ever do.
Mnemosyne
@Cermet:
It depends on one’s version of Hell. I haven’t been to church in a very long time, but I am still highly influenced by a homily I once heard where the priest said that Heaven and Hell are exactly the same. You’re sitting at a banquet table covered with the most exquisite food ever — everything you love most — but all of the utensils are too long for you to be able to reach your own mouth.
In Heaven, everyone spends the dinner feeding each other from across the table, laughing and having a good time. In Hell, everyone spends their time glowering at everyone else, convinced that the other people at the table will refuse to reciprocate even if they try to feed each other. And they’re probably right.
SiubhanDuinne
@donnah:
The happiest and most celebratory of birthdays to your son. I hope he enjoys at least twice as many more!
Kay
It looks to me like the Trump kids are wholly beholden to their father and have to kiss his ass. I think the idea that they are “partners” with their father and “advise” him was probably always bullshit. He controls them as adults.
I don’t feel sorry for them, though. They had every advantage. Any one of them could have made their own way in the world and been free of this douchebag. He gave them a hugely privileged upbringing- they had the tools to break free and do something on their own. That they all chose to stay under his thumb was their decision.
I remember this Romney son:
He went his own way and he has a normal private life and appears to be a member of the Romney family in good standing. It can be done. People make choices and the Trump children had more access to choices and options than 99% of the rest in the people in the world.
SiubhanDuinne
@Jacquestrapp:
Totally and ludicrously O/T, but your nym made me laugh. Yeah, out loud.
Kay
It’s none of my business but I am curious about Tiffany Trump. How did she manage to escape?
Gravenstone
@? ?? Goku (aka Junior G-Man) ? ?: How much you want to bet his defense revolves around mental incompetence – because of the head injury.
chopper
what utter deplorable pieces of shit. i mean you know they’re gritting fuckbags and all but ripping off money for childrens’ fucking cancer research? it’s not at all surprising but still gobsmacking.
SiubhanDuinne
@Kay:
Don’t know very much about her, but I believe after Trump and Marla Maples divorced, Marla took Tiffany to live in California. She spent some time in NYC/Mar-Lago while she was growing up, but her father had much less influence on her than on the older three.
Too soon, I guess, to speculate about Barron. Is it still the case that Melania and Barron are moving to the White House this coming Sunday?
NotoriousJRT
@? ?? Goku (aka Junior G-Man) ? ?:
I had the exact same thought re: death penalty for Christian – he is a virulent person who no doubt will find his way to an early grave-whether the state helps him or not. My other thought is that he will piss himself when he figures out his fate.
Laura
@rikyrah: Rikyrah, you are right, as always.
Downstairs you apologized for your contrariness and snarky opining. That’s what I look forward to in your commenting.
You serve it up straight, no chaser. You link to really thoughtful articles.
Don’t stop.
Tell. That. Truth. (As someone awesome said once or twice.)
NotoriousJRT
@SiubhanDuinne:
I will second that!
Kay
@SiubhanDuinne:
I don’t know. I read Gerald Ford’s sons used to sneak out to the roof and listen to “records”.
That’s how bad they were :)
It sounds so innocent compared to money laundering charity dollars.
Mnemosyne
@Kay:
I actually find it a little poignant that Eric originally set it up as a true charity, and his dad was like, If it doesn’t make money for me, you can’t do it. What a horrible parent to be raised with and controlled by.
pluky
@Kay: Her mother had the sense to move them both to the other side of the country after the divorce. Same philosophy as motivated Jackie O to keep Caroline and Jack Jr. as far away from the Hyannisport madness as she could.
Kenneth Kohl
Within the past year, my wife and I lost her brother-in-law and sister to cancer. I am a cancer patient. Fuck this Trump family to hell. No punishment can be too egregious for these motherfuckers.
SFAW
@SiubhanDuinne:
I thought I was the only one like that. Hmmm.
TriassicSands
@Mnemosyne:
It’s not difficult to understand why or how Eric would turn out to be just another horrible person. The same goes for all the kids. Overcoming a parent like Trump would not be easy or even likely.
Just curious, but did you get the recommendation yesterday for Pill Pockets?
SgrAstar
@Laura: Second that, rikyrah. I always look forward to your comments and sharp insights. Don’t stop. ❤️
satby
@Mnemosyne: That’s a great vision of heaven and hell!
SWMBO
I have a friend who lost her only son to brain cancer when he was 7. She and her husband started a charity in their son’s name to raise money for research into pediatric brain cancer. They were told when he was diagnosed that 95% of the children died within a year. He was diagnosed in January and died in October. It was heartbreaking to watch them try everything possible. EVERY penny raised by their foundation goes to pediatric brain cancer research. EVERY PENNY. When I told her about this, she was livid. She said that when the time comes (if ever) that they can’t afford the expenses to maintain the charity, they will publicly announce it so that people will be informed about their donations. This infuriates me and breaks my heart at the same time. There are so many good folks willing to help and to see this grifting family of con men (and women-I don’t for a minute think Ivanka is pure here) hurt innocent families who are getting slammed by cancer is revolting. May every grifting Trump get what they truly deserve.
Dan S.
Humane Society: USDA records on puppy mills missing from website
“An animal rights group claims important animal welfare records are missing from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s website.
The Humane Society of the United States on Tuesday said it struggled to produce its annual report on puppy mills because of missing data from the agency on pet breeders.
USDA removed all of its animal welfare inspection reports and most enforcement records from its website on Feb. 3.
The agency claimed it removed the records during litigation in an “abundance of caution” to “protect individual privacy.”
The agency was reportedly sued in 2016 by a Tennessee walking horse organization, along with a Texas couple, over public records they claimed falsely identified people as having violated the Horse Protection Act (HPA).
About a month after the records were removed, the organization and the couple dropped their lawsuit, saying they achieved their main objective.
USDA has now reposted annual and other inspection reports for research facilities, as well as inspection reports for certain licensed facilities, but the Humane Society said records on pet breeding operations are still missing…”
Tokyokie
Way late to this thread, but the only person I can think of who rates near Trump as a real-life cartoon villain is former Philippine President Erap Estrada, who, during Abu Sayaf’s wave of kidnappings of Western tourists, demanded a skim of the ransoms paid by European governments. At one point, he and a military leader cut a deal with the terrorists to allow them to escape an encirclement, resulting in several soldiers’ death.