section_path: Florida attorney general (2011–2019)/Tenure/Trump donation to Bondi PAC
section_name: Trump donation to Bondi PAC
paragraph_text: Trump donation to Bondi PAC
  
  In 2013, Bondi received criticism following a campaign donation from Donald Trump. Prior to the donation, Bondi had received at least 22 fraud complaints regarding Trump University. A spokesperson for Bondi announced that her office was considering joining a lawsuit initiated by Eric Schneiderman, the attorney general of New York, regarding tax fraud potential charges against Trump. Four days later And Justice for All, a political action committee established by Bondi to support her re-election, received a $25,000 donation from the Donald J. Trump Foundation. Bondi subsequently declined to join the lawsuit against Trump University. Both Bondi and Trump have defended the propriety of the donation.
  
  In 2016, after Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) filed a complaint with the Internal Revenue Service regarding the donation, the Trump Foundation stated that it had been made in error, intending for the donation to go to Bondi's unrelated Kansas non-profit Justice for All. In June 2016, as Bondi was facing renewed criticism over the issue, her spokesman said that Bondi had solicited the donation directly from Trump several weeks before her office announced it was considering joining the lawsuit. On March 14, 2016, Bondi endorsed Trump in the 2016 Florida Republican presidential primary, saying she had been friends with him for many years. In June 2016, a spokesperson for Governor Rick Scott stated that the state's ethics commission was looking into the matter.
  
  In September 2016, the IRS determined that the donation to Bondi's PAC violated laws against political contributions from nonprofit organizations, and ordered Trump to pay a fine for the contribution. Trump was also required to reimburse the foundation for the sum that had been donated to Bondi. Neither Bondi nor her PAC were fined or criminally charged. In November 2019, Trump was ordered by a New York state court to close down the foundation and pay $2 million in damages for misusing it, including the illegal donation to Bondi.
  
  In 2013, Bondi received criticism following a campaign donation from Donald Trump. Prior to the donation, Bondi had received at least 22 fraud complaints regarding Trump University. A spokesperson for Bondi announced that her office was considering joining a lawsuit initiated by Eric Schneiderman, the attorney general of New York, regarding tax fraud potential charges against Trump. Four days later And Justice for All, a political action committee established by Bondi to support her re-election, received a $25,000 donation from the Donald J. Trump Foundation. Bondi subsequently declined to join the lawsuit against Trump University. Both Bondi and Trump have defended the propriety of the donation.
  
  In 2016, after Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) filed a complaint with the Internal Revenue Service regarding the donation, the Trump Foundation stated that it had been made in error, intending for the donation to go to Bondi's unrelated Kansas non-profit Justice for All. In June 2016, as Bondi was facing renewed criticism over the issue, her spokesman said that Bondi had solicited the donation directly from Trump several weeks before her office announced it was considering joining the lawsuit. On March 14, 2016, Bondi endorsed Trump in the 2016 Florida Republican presidential primary, saying she had been friends with him for many years. In June 2016, a spokesperson for Governor Rick Scott stated that the state's ethics commission was looking into the matter.
  
  In September 2016, the IRS determined that the donation to Bondi's PAC violated laws against political contributions from nonprofit organizations, and ordered Trump to pay a fine for the contribution. Trump was also required to reimburse the foundation for the sum that had been donated to Bondi. Neither Bondi nor her PAC were fined or criminally charged. In November 2019, Trump was ordered by a New York state court to close down the foundation and pay $2 million in damages for misusing it, including the illegal donation to Bondi.