Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi just got a big, fat $25,000 contribution to her reelection PAC from one of Donald Trump's foundations. Which is sort of odd, because many feel Bondi's office should follow the lead of New York's attorney general and investigate Trump's shady online "Trump University."
New York AG Eric Schneiderman claims that Trump University is a "sham for profit college" that ripped off more than 5,000 consumers. The lawsuit he's filed against Trump U cites several complaints filed with the Florida Attorney General's office back in 2008, before Bondi became AG.
An Orlando Sentinel story from September 13th suggested that Bondi's office was reviewing whether or not to join the suit:
But now Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi's office is reviewing the New York lawsuit's allegations, to determine whether Florida should join the multi-state case, a spokeswoman for the Republican attorney general said Wednesday. All but one of the complaints about Trump Institute in Florida were filed when Bill McCollum, another Republican, was Florida's attorney general, records show.
But, wow, what do you know, a month later Bondi gets a big contribution from Trump.
According to The Tampa Bay Times, a Bondi spokeswoman says there's no need for Florida to join the NY lawsuit because if New York wins the lawsuit Florida consumers would be compensated. However, the paper points out that several of the complaints made in Florida were against the "Trump Institute," an affiliate not named in the original NY suit.
"Pam Bondi is a fabulous representative of the people -- Florida is lucky to have her," Trump himself said in a statement. "The case in New York is pure politics brought by an incompetent attorney general, a political hack."
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