Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump is greeted by Attorney General Pam Bondi as she introduces him to speak at a campaign event in Tampa. | AP Photo/Gerald Herbert New campaign contribution complaints seek criminal charges against Trump, Bondi

TALLAHASSEE — A Massachusetts attorney filed federal complaints Wednesday seeking criminal indictments tied to allegations Donald Trump “bribed” Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi by donating $25,000 to her political committee as she was reviewing complaints related to his now-defunct real estate school.

The new complaints filed by J. Whitfield Larrabee include the same basic allegations included in complaints he filed with Florida ethics and elections officials earlier this month. The big difference this time is that Larrabee is seeking criminal, not civil, penalties.


In his new complaints, Larrabee outlines why he thinks criminal bribery and fraud charges should be brought against Bondi, Trump and the Donald J. Trump Foundation. The complaints were filed with the U.S. State Attorney’s Office in both the Eastern District of New York and Northern District of Florida, along with New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, a Democrat.

The initial complaints, which were filed only against Bondi, sought civil penalties through the Florida Commission on Ethics, the Florida Elections Commission, and the Florida Bar Association. Those complaints, first reported by the Tampa Bay Times, have not produced the results Larrabee was looking for, and Gov. Rick Scott has given no indication he will appoint an outside investigator.

“Because Pam Bondi is the top law enforcement official in Florida, and she has said she did nothing wrong, no criminal prosecution will occur there unless Florida Governor appoints a special prosecutor,” Larrabee told POLITICO Florida in an email.

Like the earlier complaints, the focus this time is on a $25,000 check the Donald J. Trump Foundation gave to Bondi’s political committee in 2013, shortly before she announced she would not be joining legal action taken by Schneiderman against Trump University, the real estate school that is now the subject of several legal challenges across the country.

Bondi has been dogged by the pay-to-play allegations since the contributions were first reported in October 2013 by the Tampa Bay Times. It got renewed attention in March after Bondi, a Republican, endorsed Trump’s presidential bid, and started serving as one of his top Florida surrogates.

“This complaint is urgent because it concerns the corruption of an elected and presently serving state Attorney General by an individual who is expected to represent the Republican Party as its candidate for President of the United States,” the complaint reads.

The complaints are filed in two states because, Larrabee says, the “bribery scheme” crossed state lines. Larrabee is seeking an independent investigation of the contribution and indictments against Trump and Bondi “based on mail fraud, wire fraud and conspiracy by carrying out a bribery scheme.”

The fundamentals of the allegations were first made public in 2013. Several consumer complaints had been filed in Florida about Trump University, but most were under Bondi’s predecessor, Attorney General Bill McCollum.

The Orlando Sentinel reported on Sept. 13, 2013, that Bondi’s office was reviewing complaints related to Trump University. Four days after that, Bondi’s political committee reported receiving a $25,000 check from the Trump Foundation. One month later, her office announced it would take no further action and not join Schneiderman's lawsuit.

Larrabee’s complaints outline several instances in which Trump boasted on the campaign trail about using his wealth to get his way with politicians.

“I’ve given to everybody, because that was my job. I’ve got to give to them,” Trump said during January campaign stop in Iowa. “Because when I want something, I get it. “When I call, they kiss my ass. It’s true.”

Bondi’s office did not return requests seeking comment, but has consistently said she never conducted a formal investigation, therefore never ended a probe into Trump University.

“This administration received one complaint from the time Attorney General Bondi took office until the media began erroneously reporting there was an investigation,” Whitney Ray, a spokesman for Bondi’s office, told POLITICO Florida in March.

After an onslaught of attacks from political foes and media inquiries about the complaint, Bondi's office released more than 8,000 pages of records related to, among other things, her office's interaction with Trump.

Larrabee filed his initial round of complaints after Marc Reichelderfer, one of Bondi’s top political consultants, told the Associated Press the political committee had directly solicited the contribution.

"The process took at least several weeks, from the time they spoke to the time they received the contribution," Reichelderfer told the AP.

Bondi’s office later called the report “misleading.”

Compounding the problem is the fact the Trump Foundation is a nonprofit, unauthorized to give campaign contributions. Bondi’s office has tried to return the money, but it was rejected and her political committee, And Justice for All, shows no record of an expenditure to Trump’s foundation, campaign finance records show.

Nancy Watkins, the treasurer of the committee, told the Associated Press Trump wrote a personal check to his foundation to reimburse it for the political expense.

That’s where he gets in additional trouble, according the Larrabee’s complaint. Money given to a charity is tax deductible, but that should not be the case for Trump’s personal reimbursement.

“If Trump has deducted contributions to the Trump Foundation that were merely reimbursement of the illegal contribution of Trump Foundation funds to And Justice For All, then that dedication was fraudulent,” read the complaint.

Because the foundation did not accept Bondi’s refund, Larrabee alleges she also violated New York law by “spending and retaining funds received from the Trump Foundation.”