Charities and Politicians Behaving Badly

Even though President Trump appears to have finally settled the legal issues arising out of his private foundation with the payment of the $2 million in damages owed late last year, other charity-related issues have arisen for organizations and individuals associated with him. These include renewed allegations that one of the President’s impeachment lawyers and his family improperly benefitted from a network of charities to the tune of $65 million, a lawsuit by the District of Columbia Attorney General against the section 501(c)(4) 58th Presidential Inaugural Committee and for-profit entities owned by Mr. Trump and his family for alleged private inurement, reports that a section 501(c)(3) charity is giving away amounts totaling tens of thousands of dollars to hoped-for African American Trump supporters, which may not be a charitable activity, and a megachurch hosting a Trump political rally, raising questions about whether doing so violated the section 501(c)(3) prohibition on political campaign intervention.

But President Trump and those around him are far from the only political actors to engage in allegedly questionable behavior when it comes to charities, as Jack Siegel documented more than 10 years ago in The Wild, The Innocent, and the K Street Shuffle: The Tax System’s Role in Policing Interactions Between Charities and Politicians (subscription required). Here is an undoubtedly incomplete list of such stories from across the political spectrum:

• As Florida House Starts Investigating Domestic Violence Nonprofit, Exec Has No Answers (Miami Herald): This investigation grew out of earlier reports questioning the high compensation paid to the CEO of this politically connected charity, which state law requires be contracted with by the Florida Department of Children and Families.

• Lawmaker Accused of Theft From Charity Announces Resignation (U.S. News/AP): A Pennsylvania state representative stepped down in the wake of the state Attorney General filing criminal charges against her, alleging that she stole more than $500,000 from a charity she operated.

• Minnesota Attorney General’s Suit Accuses Former Ramsey County Commissioner of Mismanaging Charity’s Funds (Star Tribune): The lawsuit alleges that the former Commissioner and others at a now-defunct veterans charity had mismanaged government funds, including through engaging in self-interested, related party transactions.

• Sloppy Accounting, Funding Debts: A Look at Maya Rockeymoore Cummings’s Charity (Washington Post): This story documents a close financial relationship between a charity run by the widow of Elijah Cummings (and now candidate for his congressional seat) and her for-profit consulting firm, a relationship that was apparently not fully reported on the charity’s IRS returns.

• State AG Probes Lawmakers’ Charity Over Failed Minority Student Scholarships (N.Y. Post): The New York Attorney General’s office has reportedly launched an investigation into whether a charity associated with a number of state lawmakers failed to pursue its stated mission of providing scholarships to needy minority students, instead focusing on events for its lawmaker members and other activities.

Lloyd Mayer