Neil Cavuto had Pam Bondi on this morning and he asked her about the investigation into Trump University and the campaign donation she requested from Trump.
Watch:
If I’m hearing Bondi correctly, she says that Trump was not under investigation by her office at the time she requested the donation for her campaign.
But here’s how the Orlando Sentinel characterized it:
But there’s one attack that Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi probably wants Rubio to stop launching — the accusation that Trump ran a scam of a school called “Trump University.”
After all, Bondi chose to ignore complaints about Trump University — after Trump personally donated $25,000 to Bondi’s campaign committee.
One day Bondi’s office said it was reviewing complaints against Trump.
Three days later, Trump donated $25,000.
After that, Bondi’s office decided never to take any action.
I’m not sure if Bondi is trying to create wiggle room here, but the Orlando Sentinel never said Trump U was actually under investigation, just that they were reviewing complaints. Now perhaps that’s how Hillary’s campaign described it, but even the Orlando Weekly didn’t describe it that way:
Also, here’s a link to a story from Miami New Times from 2013 that points out that one of Trump’s foundations donated $25,000 to Bondi’s campaign PAC while she was being urged to join an investigation of Trump University, against which there were several complaints filed in Florida. At the time, Bondi opted not to join the suit against Trump U because New York AG Eric Schneiderman was already leading the charge, and she reasoned that if he won, the Florida complainants would be compensated fairly anyway, so why bother? Way to look out for your constituents, Pam!
Something still smells fishy with all of this, but without an investigation, there’s no apparent smoking gun.