Rigged? AG investigating Trump works for Hillary

As he launches an investigation into Donald Trump's foundation, New York state's chief law-enforcement officer, Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, is not commenting on his work for Democrat Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign.

A WND request to Schneiderman's office on Wednesday to comment on what many would perceive as a conflict of interest was met with silence.

The news that Schneiderman was beginning an investigation of the Trump charity already has raised eyebrows.

The Daily Caller noted he's a Democrat who serves on Clinton's leadership council in New York state.

TRENDING: Rand Paul warns GOP senators: Voting to convict Trump would cause mass exodus from party

Color Me Deplorable! Check out WND's awesome new bumper sticker that's sure to have everyone talking

Schneiderman told CNN's Jake Tapper earlier about the investigation.

"My interest in this issue really is in my capacity as regulator of nonprofits in New York state. And we have been concerned that the Trump Foundation may have engaged in some impropriety from that point of view," he said.

"We have been looking into the Trump Foundation to make sure it's complying with the laws governing charities in New York."

The concerns raised about the Trump organization centered on allegations of an illegal donation to Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi in 2013 and an expenditure of $20,000 for an oil painting of Trump.

The Daily Caller, however, pointed out that he's "been much more accommodating of the Clinton Foundation, which his agency also supervises."

Explained the DC: "A recent report found that the Clinton Foundation has not been in compliance with state rules requiring the disclosure of individual foreign donors for over a decade, but Schneiderman has declined to push for their release. His office says it's confident the [Clinton] Foundation meets all state expectations."

The Jewish Press said Schneiderman "is letting the Clinton family foundation break the law."

"According to NY state law, Schneiderman is supposed to make the Clinton Foundation and Clinton Health Access Initiative (and all charities) publicly disclose the names of foreign governments and the millions they donate each year to the charities but he's not doing it."

The report commented: "Perhaps the AG is allowing the Clinton Foundation avoid transparency because Schneiderman is also a member of Clinton's 'leadership council' in New York. After all, this AG's actions suggest that he lives by the motto 'politics first.'"

The report noted Schneiderman won a recent case over donor disclosures against the "right-leaning Citizens United" group, "forcing them [to] disclose key information about its major donors."

At the time, Schneiderman said, "Today's decision is a victory for common sense oversight of New York's vast nonprofit sector. New Yorkers deserve to know their donations are protected against fraud and abuse, and today the court protected that right."

Said the Jewish Press report: "Schneiderman meant every word of the above, but omitted the part that he only enforces transparency laws against conservative organizations. After all, the Clinton Foundation's been getting off scot-free."

What do YOU think? Should Hillary be replaced as the Democratic Party nominee? Sound off in today's WND poll

A WCPO report also raised similar questions, charging Schneiderman "has the power to force the Clinton Foundation and the Clinton Health Access Initiative to publicly disclose the names of foreign governments and the millions they donate each year to the charities but he's not doing it, a Scripps News investigation has found."

"Schneiderman's failure to require compliance with New York law and written instructions from his own office keeps the public in the dark about whether the foreign governments that gave money to the Clinton charities also had special access to Hillary Clinton when she was secretary of state, experts in private foundation law say. New York state has long required more transparency from non-profits operating within its borders than many other regulators.

New York AG Eric Schneiderman

"A Scripps Washington Bureau review of tax returns and regulatory filings found that year after year the Clinton charities have ignored New York law and related instructions. However, the office of Attorney General Schneiderman, a Democrat whom Hillary Clinton named to her campaign's 'leadership council' in New York, did not respond to Scripps' questions about the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI), which has never publicly disclosed in New York filings the identity of its foreign government contributors or the amounts they give each year. Scripps also discovered CHAI did not report hundreds of millions of dollars in foreign government donations to the state."

That report said Schneiderman's office "said it considers the Clinton Foundation, which is a separate charity, 'in step' with state rules."

The law enforcer's personal participation in the Clinton campaign was announced in October, when he was named to a New York state leadership council.

The Clinton campaign said then the group was "the in-state leadership for the campaign, amplifying the campaign's national voice to New York families aiding the campaign with rapid response, organization building, grassroots organizing events, recruiting volunteer leaders, and identifying leaders for Get Out The Vote activities."

Others joining Schneiderman on the political action council are Sens. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., and Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

Color Me Deplorable! Check out WND's awesome new bumper sticker that's sure to have everyone talking