New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman gave the Clinton Foundation a pass despite months of reports about special treatment for donors — but pounced when Donald Trump’s foundation made headlines.
The AG jumped in after it was disclosed that Trump’s charity made a $25,000 political donation to And Justice for All, a group backing Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi while she was considering whether to investigate Trump University in 2013.
Schneiderman, a staunch Hillary Clinton supporter, denied on Wednesday that his probe was politically motivated — even though his office did not probe the Clinton Foundation when it failed to list foreign donations, as required by state law.
“If I’m a traffic cop, but I’m a Democrat, and he speeds by me, I have to give him a ticket. It’s that simple. Charities have to follow the rules. You can’t say I gave money to a charity and not give the money to a charity,” Schneiderman told CBS News.
In a June 9 letter to the Trump Foundation, Assistant AG Karin Kunstler Goldman said the IRS forbids tax-exempt charitable groups from giving political donations.
In a June 28 response, Trump Foundation treasurer Allen Weisselberg said the donation was an innocent mistake.
“The contribution was made in error due to a case of mistaken identity involving organizations with the same name,” Weisselberg wrote, explaining that tax filings listed a Kansas group with a similar name.
The AG also is looking into money from the foundation being used to buy a life-sized portrait of Trump and a football helmet signed by Tim Tebow.
Meanwhile, House Democrats called on the Justice Department to probe whether Trump bribed Bondi to protect his business interests. Bondi and Trump have denied wrongdoing .