WASHINGTON (AP) — Donald Trump used money from his own charity to purchase an autographed Tim Tebow helmet and a jersey four years ago during a charity auction for the Susan J. Komen Foundation, The Washington Post reported Friday.
Trump’s winning $12,000 bid was paid for with money from the Donald J. Trump Foundation, the Post reported, citing a review of the presumptive Republican presidential nominee’s charitable records.
Trump declared in June 2015 that he had given $100 million to charity over the previous five years. But an Associated Press review of his foundation’s finances in August 2015 found that he had not donated charitable contributions to his namesake nonprofit since 2008. Without an endowment, the fund could only give grants as a result of contributions from others.
It is not known whether Trump reimbursed his foundation for the purchase.
Trump was pictured posing with the memorabilia following the 2012 auction at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida. It wasn’t clear if Trump still owns the memorabilia, which was purchased at the height of the then-Denver Broncos quarterback’s popularity. The night of the auction, Tebow’s Broncos lost 45-10 to the New England Patriots in the NFL playoffs. Tebow was traded and played only one more full season in the NFL.
A spokeswoman for Trump has not returned a request for comment.
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