Donald Trump has made his business career a cornerstone of his appeal to voters. Despite Trump’s bluster, scrutiny of his business practices reveal a malevolent man unconcerned with anything but lining his own pockets at the expense of working families, seniors, and anybody else he could try to con out of a buck.
Trump is a fraud who made his living preying on and defrauding unsuspecting customers, failing to pay employees and contractors, rooting for economic crises he could exploit for personal gain, and participating in a thinly disguised pyramid scheme. The list of Trump’s unethical business practices is truly astonishing:
Hundreds of former workers and contractors allege Trump didn’t pay his bills. Watch his victims speak out.
According to USA Today, Trump has been accused of failing to pay, “A dishwasher in Florida. A glass company in New Jersey. A carpet company. A plumber. Painters. Forty-eight waiters. Dozens of bartenders and other hourly workers at his resorts and clubs, coast to coast. Real estate brokers who sold his properties. And, ironically, several law firms that once represented him in these suits and others.” While Trump got rich, he defrauded contractors–driving some out of business–and hourly workers alike.
Trump U targeted single parents, retirement income, and made ‘impossible’ promises.
Trump lied about handpicking instructors for his “Trump U” courses. Trump U was banished from Texas after the Attorney General’s Office found promises to students were “virtually impossible to achieve.” A former staff member of Trump U described the program as “a fraudulent scheme.” Another former employee described instructors as having, “no real estate experience.” Unsurprisingly Trump stands by his con and has even stated that he may even reopen Trump U “in a heavy way.” Trump U is another textbook example of Trump’s insatiable drive for self-enrichment, no matter whom he destroys along the way.
Trump has claimed to donate millions from business revenue to charity: he hasn’t.
Trump promised to donate the profit from the sale of Trump Vodka to charity: he didn’t. Trump promised to donate a million dollars to charity from the proceeds “Trump: The Game” to charity: there’s no evidence he ever did. Trump also claimed that he was donating the profits from advising Mike Tyson and appearing in a Pepsi commercial to charitable interests. Unsurprisingly, there’s no evidence to back up his claims. Instead of donating the promised funds to charity, Trump used them to line his pockets while basking in the PR boost of his faux-philanthropy.
Trump ‘was excited‘ for the housing market crash. Watch in his own words.
Trump boasted that, “I always made more money in bad markets than in good markets.” While millions of Americans were losing their homes and jobs, Trump was advising investors to buy repossessed homes at a low cost. Trump has defended himself from criticism on the trail, reasoning that, “I mean, I’m a businessman, I like it – when it goes down it goes down.” Average Americans lost out, but Trump made a buck.
Trump licensed his name to “The Trump Network”, a company selling “customized” nutritional supplements based upon a urine test that claimed to provide, “a scientific window into your personal biochemistry.”
According to outside experts, the Trump Network was “selling bad science.” Even more dubious than the product was the company’s organizational structure. The network was a so-called “multilevel marketing company” which incentivized making sells and bringing others into the con. The Federal Trade Commission has described many multilevel marketing companies as “thinly disguised pyramid schemes.” Trump was sure to make money from licensing his name, but the workers on the ground weren’t so lucky. The company website warned, “The Trump Network does not guarantee you will earn an income.”
Trump has been involved in over 3,500 lawsuits.. (But hey, he’s proud of his winning record.)
The astounding number of legal entanglements involving Trump are unprecedented for a presidential candidate. And Trump’s legal woes aren’t in the distant past–50 civil lawsuits involving Trump remain open as he seeks the presidency. Though Trump often boasts on the trail that he “never settles”, USA TODAY’s investigation found at least 100 instances of Trump and his businesses settling with plaintiffs.
The Justice Department introduced a civil suit against Trump for racial discrimination in housing. Yet again, despite his boasts of ‘never settling’ lawsuits, he settled.
Trump settled a 1975 suit brought by the Justice Department for racial discrimination at his housing properties. In one instance, a black woman seeking to rent in a Brooklyn complex was told nothing was available. Later, a white woman seeking similar housing was given her choice of two units. Discrimination wasn’t an accident or result of individual employees personal biases; federal investigators found that Trump employees marked the applications of prospective minority tenants with racial codes–such as “No. 9” or “C” for “colored” applicants. Apparently, Trump preferred to rent his properties to “Jews and Executives,” according to two former Trump employees. Trump signed an agreement with the Justice Department as a result of these violations, but his company was later found in contempt of the agreement and called back to court.
With Trump’s campaign in a tailspin, GOP leadership is desperate for Trump to get on message. Unfortunately for them, his main appeal–his business record–is as much a fraud as he is.
Background:
Trump Did Not Pay Workers And Contractors
Trump Faced At Least 60 Lawsuits From People He Did Not Pay, Including Contractors, Employees, Former Lawyers
Trump And His Businesses Were Involved In At Least 60 Lawsuits And Hundreds Of Liens From People Awaiting Payment, Including Contractors, Employees At Trump Resorts, Real Estate Brokers, And Lawyers That Previously Represented Trump.According to USA Today, “At least 60 lawsuits, along with hundreds of liens, judgments, and other government filings reviewed by the USA TODAY NETWORK, document people who have accused Trump and his businesses of failing to pay them for their work. Among them: a dishwasher in Florida. A glass company in New Jersey. A carpet company. A plumber. Painters. Forty-eight waiters. Dozens of bartenders and other hourly workers at his resorts and clubs, coast to coast. Real estate brokers who sold his properties. And, ironically, several law firms that once represented him in these suits and others.” [USA Today, 6/9/16]
1984: Trump Did Not Pay Edward Friel’s Family Company, Sending It Into Bankruptcy
1984: Trump Did Not Pay Edward Friel Jr.’s Company $83,600 Owed For Construction On Harrah’s At Trump Plaza, Which “Began The Demise” Of The Friel’s Family Company. According to USA Today, “During the Atlantic City casino boom in the 1980s, Philadelphia cabinet-builder Edward Friel Jr. landed a $400,000 contract to build the bases for slot machines, registration desks, bars and other cabinets at Harrah’s at Trump Plaza. The family cabinetry business, founded in the 1940s by Edward’s father, finished its work in 1984 and submitted its final bill to the general contractor for the Trump Organization, the resort’s builder. Edward’s son, Paul, who was the firm’s accountant, still remembers the amount of that bill more than 30 years later: $83,600. The reason: the money never came. ‘That began the demise of the Edward J. Friel Company… which has been around since my grandfather,’ he said.” [USA Today,6/9/16]
October 1989: Edward Friel’s Family Cabinetry Company Filed For Bankruptcy After Non-Payment By Trump “Took A Huge Chunk Out Of The Bottom Line Of The Company.” According to USA Today, “Edward Friel, of the Philadelphia cabinetry company allegedly shortchanged for the casino work, hired a lawyer to sue for the money, said his son, Paul Friel. But the attorney advised him that the Trumps would drag the case out in court and legal fees would exceed what they’d recover. The unpaid bill took a huge chunk out of the bottom line of the company that Edward ran to take care of his wife and five kids. ‘The worst part wasn’t dealing with the Trumps,’ Paul Friel said. After standing up to Trump, Friel said the family struggled to get other casino work in Atlantic City. ’There’s tons of these stories out there,’ he said. The Edward J. Friel Co. filed for bankruptcy on Oct. 5, 1989. Says the founder’s grandson: ‘Trump hits everybody.’” [USA Today, 6/9/16]
Trump University Was A “Fraudulent Scheme”
Trump University Targeted Single Parents With Hungry Children
Trump University Playbook Encouraged Instructors To Target Single Parents With “Hungry Children.” According to New York Magazine, “On Tuesday, U.S. district court judge Gonzalo Curiel ordered the public release of Trump University’s ‘playbooks’ — guides the (bait-and-switch scheme masquerading as a) real-estate school used to recruit (or con) its enrollees. The playbooks show that prospective students were encouraged to pay for the program, which could cost up to $35,000, by going into credit-card debt. […] Most charmingly, the playbooks suggest recruiters exploit the desperation of a single parent with hungry children in order to convince said parent to take on massive credit-card debt.” [New York Magazine, 6/1/16]
Trump University Encouraged Spending Of Retirement Funds
Trump University Book Encouraged Students To Borrow From Their Retirement Accounts To Invest In Real Estate. According to The Huffington Post, “A section of the books called the ‘Creative Financing Retreat’ includes lessons on how to use credit cards and retirement accounts to pay for ‘real estate investments’ — chiefly, the Trump University course. ‘If a seller will take $10,000 down on a fixer-upper that you expect to make $20,000 on, why not use credit cards?’ reads one prompt. ‘Check with a tax attorney to see how you might borrow from your own retirement account to finance real estate investments,’ reads another.” [Huffington Post, 5/31/16]
Trump University Made “Virtually Impossible” Promises To Students
June 2010: Texas Assistant Attorney General Rick Berlin Said Trump University Made Promises To Students That Were “Virtually Impossible To Achieve.” According to USA Today, “The Texas Attorney General’s Office opened a deceptive trade practices investigation of Trump University in 2010 and chased the business out of the state, saying the promises made to students were ‘virtually impossible to achieve,’ according to documents unearthed by a Democratic super PAC. Assistant Attorney General Rick Berlin wrote to Donald Trump’s lawyers in June 2010 that Trump University seminars – for which students paid thousands of dollars – were targeted at real estate novices and promised ‘to teach these novices everything they need to know to be a successful residential real estate broker — in 3 days.’” [USA Today, 6/2/16]
Trump Did Not Handpick Trump University Instructors As He Promised In Advertisements
December 2015: Trump Testified That He Did Not Handpick Trump University Instructors, As He Claimed He Had In Trump University Advertisements. According to CNN Money, “The ads for his university were classic Donald Trump — Trump stares into the camera and proclaims: ‘We’re going to have professors and adjunct professors that are absolutely terrific people, terrific brains, successful. We are going to have the best of the best… and these are people that are handpicked by me.’ But a CNN investigation finds that Trump and others involved in the school admitted under oath that some promises made to students just didn’t happen. In Trump’s own deposition this past December, Trump failed to recognize the name of a single presenter or teacher at his real estate seminars. He also confirmed he had nothing to do with the selection process of instructors who taught at the school’s events or mentors for the school’s ‘Gold Elite’ programs.” [CNN Money, 5/27/16]
Former Trump University Staffer Called Trump University “A Fraudulent Scheme”
Former Trump University Sales Manager Ronald Schnackenberg: “I Believe That Trump University Was A Fraudulent Scheme.” According to The New York Times, “One sales manager for Trump University, Ronald Schnackenberg, recounted how he was reprimanded for not pushing a financially struggling couple hard enough to sign up for a $35,000 real estate class, despite his conclusion that it would endanger their economic future. He watched with disgust, he said, as a fellow Trump University salesman persuaded the couple to purchase the class anyway. ‘I believe that Trump University was a fraudulent scheme,’ Mr. Schnackenberg wrote in his testimony, ‘and that it preyed upon the elderly and uneducated to separate them from their money.’” [New York Times,5/31/16]
Some Trump University Staffers Had No Real Estate Experience
Former Trump University Employee Corrine Sommer Recalled That Some Trump University Instructors “Had No Real Estate Experience.” According to The New York Times, “Former employees like Ms. Sommer took a dimmer view of the school. In her testimony, she said she was startled by the qualifications of some Trump University instructors. Ms. Sommer recalled that a member of the Trump University sales team, who had previously sold jewelry, was promoted to become an instructor. He had ‘no real estate experience,’ she said. She added that many of the instructors had the quality that the school seemed to value most: ‘They were skilled at high-pressure sales,’ she said.” [New York Times, 5/31/16]
Trump Said He Might Reopen Trump University
Trump Said He May Restart Trump University “In A Heavy Way” Following The Lawsuit. According to Politico, “Trump said in the 2012 deposition that he may reopen the business. Trump University wasn’t operating at the time because he’d become busy with other matters and the lawsuit ‘has had such a negative impact’ on Trump University. By then, the New York attorney general had accused Trump University of operating illegally in the state and pushed the business to remove the word ‘University’ from its name. ‘Would we start it again, and do we plan to start it again after this lawsuit is won and after we bring the lawsuit against your firm? I would say probably, yeah,’ Trump said. He added later on that it’s possible he’ll restart Trump University ‘in a heavy way.’” [Politico, 3/3/16]
Trump Did Not Make Promised Charitable Donations
Trump Did not Donate Money From Trump Vodka To Charity, as He Promised He Would
2005: Trump Promised To Donate 100 Percent Of The Money From Trump Vodka To Charity. According to The Huffington Post, “Perhaps to soothe his conscience, Trump said then that he would donate all the money he made from the deal to Mothers Against Drunk Driving, the impaired-driving prevention group. ‘I’m going to give 100 percent of that money to them in honor of my late brother, Fred Trump,’ Trump wrote in December 2005. ‘I guarantee you that Fred is looking down now and saying, ‘That’s really the best thing to do.’’” [Huffington Post, 6/7/16]
The Huffington Post: “There Appears To Be No Record” That Trump Donated Proceeds “From Trump Vodka To Charity.”According to The Huffington Post, “But MADD never received any money from Trump or his vodka. ‘Conversation [with Trump] began in 2005,’ but ‘MADD declined the donation in 2006 due to our policy against accepting donations from the sale of alcohol,’ a spokeswoman for the group said. […] Despite Trump’s promises, there appears to be no record he donated money from Trump Vodka to charity. Neither Trump’s campaign team nor a spokeswoman for his private business, the Trump Organization, provided The Huffington Post with any information about what happened to the Trump Vodka money.” [Huffington Post, 6/7/16]
Trump Did Not Donate Money From Trump: The Game To Charity, As He Promised He Would
1990: Trump Claimed He Donated $1 Million In Proceeds From Trump: The Game To Charity. According to The Huffington Post, “The Milton Bradley executives were shocked. During more than a year of planning, Trump had never mentioned giving the proceeds from ‘Trump: The Game’ to charity, Blair wrote in The Trumps: Three Generations of Builders and a Presidential Candidate. ’I hope the game makes many millions of dollars,’ Trump told reporters, adding that the real beneficiaries would be groups that funded research into AIDS, cerebral palsy care, and multiple sclerosis. By August 1990, about 18 months after the game was unveiled, Trump said it had sold more than 800,000 copies. His donations to charity from the game, Trump said, had been around $1 million.” [Huffington Post,6/10/16]
The Huffington Post Could Find No Evidence That Trump Donated Any Proceeds From Trump: The Game To Charity.According to The Huffington Post, “The Huffington Post on Friday put this question to Trump’s lawyers, to an executive vice president at the Trump Organization, and to his presidential campaign spokeswoman. No one responded. […]’Trump: The Game’ appears to add to a growing list of charitable donations that Trump claims to have made, but haven’t been substantiated by evidence from Trump, his staff, or charities.” [Huffington Post, 6/10/16]
Trump Did Not Donate Money From Advising Mike Tyson, Appearing In Commercial Through His Foundation
1988: Trump Promised To Donate $2 Million Made From Advising Mike Tyson To Charity Through His Foundation, But His Foundation Never Received The Donation. According to Buzzfeed, “From the beginning, the claims follow a similar pattern. In 1988, the year he created the foundation, Trump was named to a board that would advise Mike Tyson on his business decisions. […] Later, Trump would reveal that his fee for advising Tyson was $2 million, and wrote a letter to the heavyweight champ asking that Tyson keep his ‘promise of a $2 million contribution to various charities as selected by me.’ The money, Trump wrote, was to be put into his foundation. According to foundation records, though, no donation was made.” [Buzzfeed, 6/19/16]
1988: Trump Promised To Donate $50,000 He Made From A Pepsi Commercial To Charity, Though There Was No Record Of His Foundation Making The Donation. According to Buzzfeed, “According to foundation records, though, no donation was made. That same year, Trump said he would give the $50,000 he made for appearing in a Pepsi commercial, according to New York magazine. The next year, 1989, the game showTrump Card was launched in Trump’s casino in Atlantic City, Trump said that it would produce millions in royalties — which would be given to charity, according to Reuters. ‘I give far more money in most cases than just about anybody else comparable,’ he told a questioner on Phil Donahue’s show in 1988. It’s also possible that Trump could have donated directly to charities without going through his own foundation. In a statement to BuzzFeed News, Trump campaign press secretary Hope Hicks said that Trump makes charitable contributions personally.” [Buzzfeed, 6/19/16]
Trump Profited Off The Housing Market Collapse
2007: Trump Said He Was “Excited” For the Housing Market To Collapse So He Could profit
2007: Trump: “I’m Excited” For The End Of The Housing Bubble: “I’ve Always Made More Money In Bad Markets Than In Good Markets.” According to NBC News, “Donald Trump counseled Trump University students to take advantage of the housing bubble as an investment opportunity and said, just a year before it burst, that he was ‘excited’ for it to end because of the money he’d make. ‘People have been talking about the end of the cycle for 12 years, and I’m excited if it is,’ he told the Globe and Mail in March of 2007. ‘I’ve always made more money in bad markets than in good markets.’” [NBC News, 5/23/16]
Trump On Profiting Off The Housing Market Collapse: “If It Goes Down, I’m Going To Buy… I’m A Businessman. I Like It- When It Goes Down It Goes Down.” According to The Washington Times, “Likely GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump is defending his past comments about the notion of making money off of a housing collapse last decade, saying he feels ‘badly for everybody’ but that he’s a businessman. ‘I see this lowlife, she puts on an ad: ‘Did you know that Donald Trump was rooting against housing because he wanted housing to go down because he wanted to buy?’’ Mr. Trump said at a rally in New Mexico Tuesdayevening. Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton’s campaign had released a web ad earlier Tuesday hitting Mr. Trump on the issue. ‘And they’ve got some clip of me from many years ago where I’m saying yeah, if it goes down, I’m going to buy,’ he said. ‘I’m a businessman – that’s what I’m supposed to do. That’s what I’m supposed to do.’ ‘I mean, I’m a businessman,’ he said. ‘I like it – when it goes down it goes down.’” [Washington Times, 5/25/16]
2007: Trump Told Investors To Buy Subprime Mortgages, Repossessed Houses Following Housing Market Collapse
2007: Trump Advised Investors To Buy “Subprime Mortgages At A Discount, And Repossessed Houses At Low Prices.”According to NBC News, “The subprime mortgage crisis alone caused millions of Americans to lose their homes, but that same Globe and Mail piece reports Trump was ‘advising investors that their are now great deals in buying subprime mortgages at a discount, and repossessed houses at low prices.’” [NBC News, 5/23/16]
Trump Network
March 2009: Trump Agreed To Allow The Trump Network License His Name. According to court records from a lawsuit between Ideal Health and a former executive, “At first, the deal was to involve a transfer of stock to Trump but the parties ultimately settled on a license agreement. In March, 2009, TTN, LLC (‘TTN’) (an entity owned and controlled by Ideal) entered into an agreement with Trump through which Ideal gained rights to Trump’s likeness and trademarks and Trump agreed to promote its products personally. Ideal, in turn, re-branded itself as ‘The Trump Network’ and updated all of its product lines accordingly. The deal has apparently been very lucrative for the plaintiffs who, according to Blechman, have already experienced a substantial increase in revenues.” [Memorandum and Order, Ideal Health, Inc. v. Blechman, United States District Court District of Massachusetts, case no. 1:09-cv-10791-DJC, filed 5/6/10]
Firm Multilevel Marketing Company, That Sold Products Through A Team Of Marketers Who Were Financially Incentivized To Make Sales And To Recruit Others Into The Network. According to Stat News, “The firm was a network marketing company, or multilevel marketing company, that sold products through a team of marketers who were financially incentivized to make sales and to recruit others into the network.” [Stat News, 3/2/16]
Washington Post: The Federal Trade Commission Called Some Multilevel Marketing Companies “Thinly Disguised Pyramid Schemes.” According to the Washington Post, “But most of the controversy surrounding Ideal Health, and later the Trump Network, stems from how these companies rewarded and recruited sales representatives. Although many multilevel marketing companies are legal, the FTC has called some thinly disguised pyramid schemes.” [Washington Post, 3/23/16]
Trump Network Website Stated “The Trump Network Does Not Guarantee You Will Earn An Income.” According to the Associated Press, “The Web site does caution: ‘If any product purchase creates a financial hardship, do not make the purchase. Your financial health is as important to us as your personal health.’ It also states, in a footnote: ‘The Trump Network does not guarantee you will earn an income.’” [Associated Press, 11/19/09]
Trump Network Sold The PrivaTest, A Urine Test That Would Provide “A Scientific Window Into Your Personal Biochemistry.”According to National Review, “That was, as Donald himself might say, hyperbole. It’s far from clear whether Ideal Health’s (that is, the Trump Network’s) products had any substantive nutritional value. Take the centerpiece of the program, the PrivaTest, a urine test that would provide ‘a scientific window into your personal biochemistry,’ as Trump Network’s website advertised. Customers would purchase the PrivaTest kit, collect a urine sample, and ship the sample to a lab, which would analyze it and develop a ‘Custom Essentials’ kit of nutritional supplements ‘calibrated . . . to reflect your unique nutrient needs.’” [National Review, 3/8/16]
Stat Investigation: Trump Network “Was Selling Bad Science.” According to Stat News, “For about two years, a STAT investigation has found, The Trump Network sold customized vitamins and scientific testing kits, claiming they would yield health benefits. But according to many outside experts, the network was selling bad science.” [Stat News, 3/2/16]
Washington Post: A Trump Network Sales Representative Told The FTC The Company Was “Scamming And Deceiving People, Making Them Believe That If They ‘Just Hang In There’ They Will Make Money.” According to the Washington Post, “In one complaint to the FTC, obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request by The Washington Post, one former sales representative recounted spending $1887.75 on starter kits and other materials. ‘[T]hey kept tricking me into believing that I will make money just by selling more products and inviting more people, but the rate of return is so low,’ the consumer, who is not identified, wrote. ‘In other words, they are scamming and deceiving people, making them believe that if they ‘just hang in there’ they will make money.’” [Washington Post, 3/23/16]
Trump Was Involved In Thousands Of Lawsuits
Trump And His businesses Had Been Involved In At Least 3,500 Legal Actions In Three Decades
Trump And His Businesses Were Involved In “At Least 3,500 Legal Actions” In The Last Three Decades. According to USA Today, “Donald Trump is a fighter, famous for legal skirmishes over everything from his golf courses to his tax bills to Trump University. But until now, it hasn’t been clear precisely how litigious he is and what that might portend for a Trump presidency. An exclusive USA TODAY analysis of legal filings across the United States finds that the presumptive Republican presidential nominee and his businesses have been involved in at least 3,500 legal actions in federal and state courts during the past three decades. They range from skirmishes with casino patrons to million-dollar real estate suits to personal defamation lawsuits.” [USA Today, 6/2/16]
June 2016: Trump Touted His Record Of Winning Many lawsuits
Trump Tweet, 2016: “Wow, USA Today Did Todays Cover Story On My Record In Lawsuits. Verdict: 450 Wins, 38 Losses. Isn’t That What You Want For Your President?”[Twitter- Donald J. Trump, 6/2/16]
June 2016: 50 Civil Lawsuits Remained Open Against Trump
50 Civil Lawsuits Against Trump And His Businesses Remained Open In June 2016. According to USA Today, “Just since he announced his candidacy a year ago, at least 70 new cases have been filed, about evenly divided between lawsuits filed by him and his companies and those filed against them. And the records review found at least 50 civil lawsuits remain open even as he moves toward claiming the nomination at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland in seven weeks.” [USA Today, 6/2/16]
Trump Had Settled At Least 100 Lawsuits
Trump And His Businesses Had Settled At Least 100 Lawsuits. According to USA Today, “And despite his boasts on the campaign trail that he ‘never’ settles lawsuits, for fear of encouraging more, he and his businesses have settled with plaintiffs in at least 100 cases reviewed by USA TODAY. Most involve people who say they were physically injured at Trump properties, with settlements that range as high as hundreds of thousands of dollars.” [USA Today, 6/2/16]
Racial Discrimination Lawsuit
1973: Justice Department Sued Trump Organization For Racial Discrimination
October 1973: The Justice Department Sued The Trump Organization For Racial Discrimination In Housing. According to The Washington Post, “In October 1973, the Justice Department filed a civil rights case that accused the Trump firm, whose complexes contained 14,000 apartments, of violating the Fair Housing Act of 1968. The case, one of the biggest federal housing discrimination suits to be brought during that time, put a spotlight on the family empire led by its 27-year-old president, Donald Trump, and his father, Fred Trump, the chairman, who had begun building houses and apartments in the 1930s.” [Washington Post, 1/23/16]
1975: Trump Settled Racial Discrimination Case, Promised To Advertise Directly To Minority Tenants
Trump Signed Consent Decree With The Government Requiring Him To Advertise In Minority Papers, Promote Minority Employment And Create A ‘Preferential Vacancy Listing With The Urban League.’ According to Wayne Barrett- Trump: The Deals And The Downfall, ‘Finally, Donald signed the consent decree. The government called the decree-which required advertisements in minority papers, minority employment promotions, and a preferential vacancy listing with the Urban League-’one of the most far reaching ever negotiated.’’ [Wayne Barrett- Trump: The Deals And The Downfall, 12/1/91]
1978: Justice Department Brought Trumps Back To Court For Not Following Through On Settlement Agreement
1978: The Justice Department Found Trumps On Contempt Of Consent Decree, Brought Them Back To Court. According to Wayne Barrett- Trump: The Deals And The Downfall, ‘In any event, four years later, in the summer of 1978, the Justice Department found the Trumps in contempt of the decree and called them back into court. Cohn picked up his argument where he’d left off, branding the new case a ‘rehash’ without ‘the slightest merit,’ attributable to ‘planted malcontents .’ It all remained irrelevant to Donald. The bottom line was that two government discrimination lawsuits had had no effect on the company’s ability to make development deals, usually with the government’s help. The charges were just not a part of the world in which he operated.’ [Wayne Barrett- Trump: The Deals And The Downfall, 12/1/91]