Exclusive: Trump Tried to Pay Vets To Be Props
Trump’s campaign asked a small veterans charity to stand on stage with the mogul at a rally to receive a six-figure check. The charity took a pass.
MANCHESTER, N.H. — Donald Trump wanted a small veterans charity to be his political prop. They said no.
Liberty House is a scrappy veterans group in New Hampshire, with a small, $300,000 annual budget—one of the 22 organizations chosen to benefit from Trump’s multimillion-dollar fundraiser for vets.
On Friday, Liberty House executive director Keith Howard received a call from a Trump campaign staffer, who conveyed that Trump would like to publicly present them with a six-figure check at a Londonderry rally on Monday, right before the Granite State primary.
It’s an enormous amount of money for a small charity. But Howard said he wouldn’t do it—risking the entire, substantial donation on a point of principle.
Howard, a 57-year-old Army vet, objected to the use of veterans for political purposes. He doesn’t believe that his charity—which clothes the homeless, feeds the needy, and provides housing to 10 formerly homeless vets—should be presented with money by a political candidate at a political rally.
“This is not directed at the Trump campaign,” Howard said. “This is about any campaign.”
Plus, Howard believed appearing at a political rally could jeopardize his group’s nonprofit status—something a call to an expert in the state attorney general’s office confirmed. And he found it strange that the call was coming from a Trump campaign staffer, rather than someone related to the foundation that raised money for veterans.
One campaign legal expert said the interaction between Trump’s campaign and the Donald J. Trump Foundation was a serious issue.
“The campaign utilizing the foundation to help support and promote campaign events is a potential legal problem for both the campaign and the Trump Foundation,” said Larry Noble, general counsel at the Campaign Legal Center.
more:
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/02/06/nh-vets-pass-on-being-trump-s-paid-props.html?via=newsletter&source=DDMorning
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