title:  REPORT: Trump Illegally Used Charity Money To Jumpstart Presidential Campaign
text: A new report from RealClearPolitics is detailing what might be another illegal endeavor of Donald Trump at the behest of his  charitable foundation  (which has already been caught illegally using funds to pay off lawsuits).From 2011 to 2014, leading up to his presidential announcement (and speculation in 2012), the Trump Foundation donated nearly $300,000 to various conservative groups and organizations.IRS laws clearly state that charity executives may not use a foundation  funds to finance personal endeavors that benefit said executives.In 2011, Trump met with South Carolina conservative activist Oran Smith with the intent for, as Smith puts it,  laying the foundation for a   campaign.  After the meeting between the two, Trump, using foundation money, donated $10,000 to Smith s organization, the Palmetto Family Council.According to RealClearPolitics:In many cases, this flow of money corresponded to prime speaking slots or endorsements that aided Trump as he sought to recast himself as a plausible Republican candidate for president. Although sources familiar with the thinking behind the donations cautioned that Trump did not explicitly ask for favors in return for the money, they said the contributions were part of a deliberate effort by Trump to ingratiate himself with influential conservatives and brighten his political prospects.Talk about real pay-for-play.Using Foundation money to monetarily influence, even slightly, those who could (and would) catapult his political career (a personal endeavor) is still illegal under IRS laws   no matter how many technicalities Trump and his lawyers want to argue.In almost all instances, these conservative organizations, with considerable political influence, invited the billionaire mogul and provided endorsements after he donated thousands of dollars to their cause.Another high profile donation was made to The Family Leader organization, a socially conservative think tank that featured Trump as a keynote speaker at one of their most prestigious events in 2013. Trump was featured as the keynote speaker after giving $10,000 like he did with the Palmetto Family Council. RealClearPolitics points out that Trump may have broken IRS rules by giving directly to the organization and not its affiliated nonprofit branch, thus pitting Trump in a  double whammy  on unethical, illegal political meanderings.After Trump donated $100,000 to Citizens United, a Koch-backed political entity:In April 2014, when Citizens United hosted a  cattle call  of would-be Republican candidates for president in New Hampshire, Trump was there. In January 2015, at Citizens United s Freedom Summit in Iowa, Trump was again on the program.This won t bode well, especially for a guy who s  under audit  from the IRS. We now know why, apparently.While Republicans try to find something, anything, to pit Clinton against her foundation, the GOP is ignoring the obvious abuses of Trump and his. This double standard from the right should not surprise anyone   their candidate is failing and they need to divert any negative attention away from him. This is the party of  Christian values  at work.Featured image via Spencer Platt/Getty Images