Donald Trump and his supporters have criticized Bill and Hillary Clinton for Clinton Foundation donations while the GOP nominee faces foundation issues of his own. | Getty Clinton camp rips Trump over his foundation's IRS troubles

Under attack from Republicans over pay-for-play allegations, Hillary Clinton’s campaign on Friday took the opportunity to punch back, ripping Donald Trump over his own foundation's run-in with the Internal Revenue Service.

Trump's foundation — which the Clinton campaign refers to as the one “that has been caught in an actual pay-to-play scandal” — was forced to pay the IRS a $2,500 penalty this year following the revelation that the Trump Foundation improperly donated $25,000 to a political committee supporting Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi in 2013. The foundation failed to document the payment in its IRS filings. The fine was first revealed Thursday by the Washington Post.


The contribution came as Bondi was considering whether to investigate allegations of fraud at the now-defunct Trump University. Bondi ultimately declined to pursue the case, but for Trump’s nonprofit organization to donate to a political candidate is a potential violation of federal rules, as charities are barred from doing such.

Clinton campaign communications director Jennifer Palmieri blasted Trump on Friday for “falsely attacking the charity run by President Clinton when it is Trump’s own Foundation that has been caught in an actual pay-to-play scandal.”

“While the Clinton Foundation has received the highest ratings from independent charitable watchdogs, Donald Trump’s use of foundation money to donate to the Florida Attorney General actually broke the law,” Palmieri said in a statement. “Worst of all, it appears the payment may have been intended to stave off an investigation into the sham Trump University that has ripped off unsuspecting students.”

“Donald Trump has no standing whatsoever to question the Clinton Foundation, which works to make AIDS and malaria drugs more accessible, when it's been proven he uses his own foundation to launder illegal campaign donations,” she added.

Clinton’s campaign in recent weeks has undergone attacks from Trump and other Republicans over allegations of quid pro quo as the release of batches of emails appear to show the former secretary of state and her aides involved in uncomfortably close ties between State Department business and Clinton Foundation donors. The emails also highlight the potential for more blurred lines between her administration and those who have supported her family's foundation should she win the White House in November, prompting calls from the right to immediately shut down the family foundation to end any potential conflicts of interest.