Clinton Camp Hits Back At Trump’s IRS Fine: That’s ‘Actual Pay-To-Play!’

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton speaks during a Nevada Democratic caucus rally, Saturday, Feb. 20, 2016, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)
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Hillary Clinton’s campaign fired back Friday on the news that Donald Trump paid an IRS penalty for violating tax law with a donation to a political committee backing the Florida attorney general, calling it “an actual pay-to-play scandal” in a statement.

Clinton spokeswoman Jennifer Palmieri’s remarks repurposed Trump’s own attacks on the former secretary of state, whom he has accused of running a “pay-to-play” scheme trading access to the State Department for donors to the Clinton Foundation.

“While the Clinton Foundation has received the highest ratings from independent charitable watchdogs, Donald Trump’s use of foundation money to donate to the Florida Attorney General actually broke the law,” Palmieri said in the statement. “Worst of all, it appears the payment may have been intended to stave off an investigation into the sham Trump University that has ripped off unsuspecting students.”

Through his charitable foundation, Trump improperly donated $25,000 to a group associated with Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi’s (R) campaign in 2013, a violation of the tax code. At the time, Bondi had been considering whether to bring fraud charges over his Trump University.

Read the full statement from the campaign below:

Donald Trump has been falsely attacking the charity run by President Clinton when it is Trump’s own Foundation that has been caught in an actual pay-to-play scandal.

While the Clinton Foundation has received the highest ratings from independent charitable watchdogs, Donald Trump’s use of foundation money to donate to the Florida Attorney General actually broke the law. Worst of all, it appears the payment may have been intended to stave off an investigation into the sham Trump University that has ripped off unsuspecting students.

Donald Trump has no standing whatsoever to question the Clinton Foundation, which works to make AIDS and malaria drugs more accessible, when it’s been proven he uses his own foundation to launder illegal campaign donations.

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