Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani said a "clerical error" made by Donald Trump's foundation in 2013 had been corrected and that it was a "small matter." | Getty Giuliani laughs off 'small matter' of Trump IRS fine

Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani called the fine Donald Trump paid over his foundation’s 2013 donation to Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi “a small matter” and said it did not compare to Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server during her tenure as secretary of state.

Trump’s foundation was fined $2,500 for making an improper $25,000 donation to Bondi at the same time that she was considering opening a fraud investigation into Trump University, the Manhattan billionaire’s much-maligned real estate seminar program. Trump has insisted that he never spoke to Bondi about the donation, and on Tuesday, Giuliani chalked up the episode to a “clerical error” that has been corrected.


“I would say that your question is amazing,” Giuliani said after laughing at a question from Sopan Deb of CBS News on whether the former prosecutor would be concerned about the donation, Deb reported on Twitter. “You’re asking me about another small matter. It was corrected with a — that was corrected. It was a clerical error, corrected.”

Giuliani accused Deb of bias for asking about Trump’s donation and subsequent fine instead of Clinton’s twin controversies, that she potentially compromised national security by storing classified information on a personal email server and allegations that she offered better access to State Department officials to individuals who donated to the Clinton Foundation.

“You’re not asking me about any questions about two, what would be considered major crimes of massive, of massive proportions,” the former mayor said.

In answering the question, Giuliani focused largely on the $2,500 fine that Trump paid to the IRS, not on the $25,000 donation itself. He told Deb to “refer to the campaign as to anything else about” the donation because he did not “have any details on that.”