Floridians Must Have Full Accounting of Trump-Bondi Connection

Statement by Liza McClenaghan, Chair, Florida Common Cauise

Attorney General Pam Bondi owes Floridians a full accounting of her office’s investigation of fraud allegations against Trump University and her acceptance of a $25,000 campaign contribution from a Trump-backed charity. If she can’t provide it – immediately – Gov. Rick Scott should appoint an independent investigator to do so.

Published reports, so far unchallenged by Ms. Bondi, indicate her office has fallen far short of its responsibility to investigate and prosecute fraud allegations aggressively. Instead, the office conducted what was at best a cursory investigation of claims that Trump University ran a multi-state fraud scheme that fleeced students, including Floridians, out of millions of dollars. Ms. Bondi ultimately decided not to pursue the matter in court.

New York State’s attorney general, who has sued the Trump organization in his state, has accused University founder and namesake Donald Trump of “making false promises to convince people to spend tens of thousands of dollars they couldn’t afford for lessons they never got.” 

As attorney general, Ms. Bondi owes Floridians her maximum effort to protect them from fraudsters. It appears here that she has given far less. Even worse, as her office’s purported review of Trump University was underway, Ms. Bondi apparently solicited and accepted a $25,000 campaign contribution from a Trump charity. Her subsequent decision against filing a lawsuit naturally raises suspicions that she provided Trump University with favorable treatment in exchange for financial support. Sadly, Ms. Bondi has done nothing to quell those suspicions; instead, her response to queries about the matter has fueled them.