During the Republican presidential debate, Donald Trump made a very explicit case that he donated to politicians to curry favors with them. or, pay to play.
“When you give, they do whatever the hell you want them to do.”“You’d better believe it,” Mr. Trump responded. He added: “When they call, I give. And you know what? When I need something from them two years later, three years later, I call them, they are there for me.”
CNN's New Day host Alisyn Camerota asked Trump's House Leadership Co-Chair Rep. Chris Collins to explain these illegal activities.
By the way, Rep. Collins was the first Congressman to endorse Trump and there are hardly any members in this committee.
She said, "You heard all these different Trump.examples dating back to the 1980s of not only skirting the law, but breaking the law in terms of campaign contributions, and donations. How is that not him rigging the system?"
Collins defended Trump by saying, "Donald has always been a donor."
Huh? Yes, that's what paying bribes to AG's like Bondi means. You donate money to them so they won't prosecute you. Being a donor doesn't excuse criminal behavior.
However, evil Hillary is worse because she's "someone with his hand out" and "she has been on the receiving end of donations."
Every member of Congressman solicits donations to win elections. Rep. Collins knows this because he's done it himself, even if he is a very rich man.
Rep. Collins continued shoveling Trump's manure and said, "I don't think America cares too much on an individual giving his money as much as they do about somebody who has got their hands out, shaking down donors and then being subject to the, you know, demands of those same donors."
Right there Rep. Collins unintentionally explained to the American people how Trump tries to bribe politicians.
But, politicians aren't shaking people down when they ask for donations, Mr. Collins. A shakedown is when you blackmail somebody or use force to intimidate a person or a business to bend to your will.
Camerota replied, "Don't you think the American public cares about breaking the law?"
Collins responded that the Bondi case and others aren't crimes because, "these are technicalities in many cases."
And then he began lying, "He was solicited for donation, he told his clerk to do it. She wrote it out of the wrong checking account. They self-reported it. There was a fine that went along with that self-reporting and he cleared it up. Those things do happen."
No they don't, sir! And that's not what happened at all. First of all if you believe a Trump employee just picked the wrong check book to write out a 25K check, you'd be a fool, Congressman.
Donald Trump tried to hide the donation by using his own foundation as a front and then made believe it went to a Kansas charity.
And it wasn't until The Washington Post and CREW exposed this illegal contribution that they were forced to acknowledge it so they didn't lose their tax exemption status.
[T]he 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.
...[W]hen the Trump Foundation sent in its tax filings that year, it compounded the original error by leaving out any mention of a political gift. When the IRS form asked if the Trump Foundation had spent money for political purposes that year, the foundation wrote "No."
Then, the Trump Foundation told the IRS about a gift that did not exist.
The foundation told the IRS that it had given $25,000 to a third group, a charity in Kansas with a similar name, "Justice for All." In fact, the Trump Foundation had not actually sent the Kansas group any money.
This new, incorrect listing had the effect of camouflaging the prohibited gift. Trump's CFO said that the listing of the Kansas group was another mistake, made by the foundation's accountants.
Camerota wasn't great in this segment because she didn't refute any of his nionsense, but she tried at least.
Alisyn said, "Let's look at the list again because it is more than just donations. It is illegal donations."
She continued, "Fined $250,000 by failing to disclose the extent of lobbying activities, paying them for something he wanted. Now, of course, he donated to more than just Pam Bondi, four attorneys general who were looking into Trump University. Isn't this the very definition of payola, the practice of bribing someone to use their influence to promote your particular interest?"
Rep. Collins didn't answer the question and said, "Donald Trump has been on the donating side. You make donations at times to get the ear of somebody that you would like to speak with that's part of what goes on in politics."
He continued, "Clinton has been on the receiving end..."
Camerota shot back, "But not illegal. It is a big difference, Congressman. But nothing illegal."
Collins lied again saying, "many of these are technicalities."
No they are not, Congressman.
He tried to smear the entire political system of New York to obfuscate Trump's malfeasance.
Trump never donated to Pam Bondi before until she was considering whether to open up an investigation against Trump University. He paid an illegal contribution, or a bribe and was caught doing it.
Period, end of story.
