Trump promises not to use other people's charitable donations to pay for Trump U settlement

Donald Trump has treated his “charitable foundation” as if the neediest child in all of North America is named Donald Trump. Though the coffers of the charity are filled, not with Trump’s own money, but with donations that have come from those trying to ingratiate themselves with the orange menace, Trump has dipped into his foundation to buy self portraits, pay off legal fees, pay attorneys general not to go after Trump University, pay organizations to attack an attorney general who insisted on going after Trump University, and even to pay off on a golf bet. He’s treated it as an all purpose slush-fund full of tax free income that can be used for any purpose. Which leads to concerns about how the Trump University settlement might be paid.

Donald Trump will use no charitable funds to pay off a $25 million settlement of fraud lawsuits against his defunct real estate seminar program, Trump University, an attorney for his business said Monday.

Don’t start thinking that this represents an outbreak of minimal decency on Trump’s part. New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman made this part of the settlement deal.

In a statement, Schneiderman spokeswoman Amy Spitalnick said the attorney general's office had demanded the written assurance, “given Mr. Trump’s reported history of using his charity’s money to fund his and his businesses’ legal settlements.”

Smart move, Mr. Attorney General. Which leads to Schneiderman’s next act.

… the New York Attorney General’s Office has confirmed it is investigating the Trump Foundation’s practices.