Donald Trump Campaign: NY AG Eric Schneiderman Issues Cease-And-Desist Order To Charitable Foundation

New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman’s office has released a copy of a “notice of violation,” a sort of cease-and-desist letter, hosted with Document Cloud, purportedly sent to Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump’s “charitable organization” the Donald J. Trump Foundation, ordering a halt to all fundraising activities in The Empire State, the GOP outsider’s home.

Hope Hicks, with the Donald Trump campaign, indicated that the campaign and the candidate intend to “fully” cooperate with investigators.

“The Trump Foundation must immediately cease soliciting contributions or engaging in any other fundraising activities in New York,” the AG’s letter to Trump reads.

The notice states that the Trump Foundation lacks the necessary registration with the Charities Bureau requiring that the organization submit annual financial reports and audited statements. The notice also demands that the Trump Foundation produce both current and past financial reports and audited financial statements within 15 days from September 30, the day Schneiderman’s office sent the letter.

A number of activities being perceived as questionable — given that the Trump Foundation is a charity — has led at least one observer to label Donald Trump a “scam artist,” as reported by the Washington Post.

The Post lists “charitable” Trump outings that have led up to the issuing of the cease-and-desist letter by the AG: a $20,000, six-foot tall portrait of himself; a $12,000, Tim Tebow football helmet; the timing of improper donations to Florida AG Pam Bondhi; the relationship between Trump and a Florida police association that both rented $100,000-plus halls from the GOP candidate, as well as presented him with an award; and reported promises made on The Apprentice that donations to a New Jersey charitable cause would come from his “own wallet,” when in the end, they were reported to have come from the Trump Foundation.

CharityWatch.org and CharityNavigator.org both rate the Clinton Foundation highly. Neither site provides an opinion for the Trump Foundation.

CharityNavigator.org states that they do not rate the Trump Foundation because it has not filed IRS form 990-PF, which is required by private charitable foundations. Earlier Trump Foundation filings are available with ProPublica.org.

The Inquisitr has previously featured reports that Donald Trump has not personally contributed to the foundation named after him since 2008, as well as suggestions that he may not have paid any personal income tax for 20 years.

“The Trump Foundation nevertheless intends to cooperate fully with the investigation. Because this is an ongoing legal matter, the Trump Foundation will not comment further at this time,” Trump campaign spokesperson Hope Hicks was quoted with regard to the cease-and-desist order, as reported by CNBC.

According to reports, the Trump Foundation has never had proper registration as a charity and that it accepted over $25,000 in donations in “each of the past 10 years.”

“We just cracked $6 million, right? Six million,” is what the man with a real shot at being leader of the free world was quoted on a televised January appearance with regard to how much he had raised for veterans, as reported by the Washington Post.

“Donald Trump gave $1 million. Okay?”

“At that rally we raised, in one hour, $6 million. Is that good?” Trump was quoted in the following days.

In May, it was revealed that the amount really raised was closer to $4.5 million. By that time, Trump didn’t appear to be as enthusiastic about his charitable cause.

“Why should I give you records?” Trump was quoted with regard to the money raised and distributed from the veterans fundraiser. “I don’t have to give you records.”

Evidence of the accounting of this activity being made available for public scrutiny remains elusive.

“He’s not going to share that information,” former Trump campaign spokesperson Corey Lewandowski was quoted in May.

Last Thursday, the city of Phoenix, Arizona, was also reported to have sent the Donald Trump campaign a cease-and-desist letter taking issue with the use of images of Phoenix police officers in Trump political ads.

[Featured Image by Jessica Kourkounis/Getty Images]