NEW YORK: Prosecutors Say Evidence Proves Trump Used Charity Money During 2016 Presidential Run

Courthouse News reports:

Ramping up their criminal case against the Trump Foundation, New York prosecutors said new evidence shows President Donald Trump used foundation money during his 2016 presidential run — a violation of the bar against charities getting involved in political campaigns.

New York Attorney General Letitia James disclosed the evidence in a filing late Thursday in Manhattan Supreme Court, saying Trump urged supporters at his rallies to donate to the Donald J. Trump Foundation, and then gave his campaign total control over the disbursement of the donations, from choosing the recipients to the amounts and timing of the grants.

“This arrangement not only violated New York law, but also ran afoul of federal campaign finance law, turning a charity fundraiser into a campaign fundraiser and campaign rallies into opportunities for the candidate to dole out money the public had donated to a charity,” James wrote in a 19-page brief.