Donald Trump’s foundation spent $258,000 to settle lawsuits involving his for-profit enterprises. | AP Photo Clinton camp: Trump Foundation as much a charity as Trump U is a college

Hillary Clinton’s campaign on Tuesday ridiculed Donald Trump’s nonprofit amid allegations that the Republican presidential nominee used its funds to settle litigation.

“Clearly the Trump Foundation is as much a charitable organization as Trump University is an institute of higher education,” Clinton deputy communications director Christina Reynolds said in a statement, likening the Trump Foundation to his now-defunct real estate program.


According to a Washington Post report, Trump’s foundation spent $258,000 to settle lawsuits involving his for-profit enterprises, expenditures that may violate laws barring leaders of nonprofits from using the charity’s funds to benefit themselves or their businesses.

The expenditures include $30,000 on portraits of himself — a six-foot portrait for $20,000 in 2007 and a $10,000 portrait he bought from a charity fundraiser in 2014.

If found to have violated tax laws, the IRS could force Trump to pay a penalty in taxes or reimburse his foundation for the entirety of the funds he spent on his own behalf. Trump’s foundation is also being investigated by New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, who is looking into whether the Trump Foundation violated state laws.

“Trump’s version of charity is taking money from others to settle his own legal issues and buy at least two pictures of himself, which experts say is a clear violation of laws governing charitable organizations,” Reynolds said. “Once again, Trump has proven himself a fraud who believes the rules don’t apply to him. It’s past time for him to release his tax returns to show whether his tax issues extend to his own personal finances.”