Donald Trump would have violated IRS rules against "self-dealing" if a $20,000 portrait of himself bought with money from his Donald J. Trump Foundation wasn't given to a charity or used for charitable purposes, the Washington Post reported.
The Post, which first reported Trump bought the 6-foot-tall portrait at a 2007 charity auction, wrote Wednesday it is not clear where the portrait wound up.
But a former production manager for the portrait's painter told the Post he had shipped the portrait — at the request of Trump’s wife, Melania — to the private Trump National Golf Club in a Westchester County suburb of New York City.
If there, "It is a non charitable use," Marc Owens, a former director of the IRS division overseeing tax-exempt enterprises, told the Post.
The campaign of the GOP presidential nominee did not comment to the Post; the portrait's artist, Michael Israel, declined to comment to the Post.
When the Trump Foundation completed its tax filings for 2007, it answered "no" to a question on whether it had violated rules by using charity money to "furnish goods, services, or facilities" to one of its officers. Trump signed the document, the Post reported.
If the IRS determined the purchase of the painting was a prohibited act of "self-dealing" by Trump, it could impose penalties on both the foundation and on him, the Post reported.
President Barack Obama chided the portrait's purchase during a stump speech Tuesday for Hillary Clinton.
"One candidate's family foundation has saved countless lives around the world," he said. "The other candidate's foundation took money other people gave to his charity and then bought a six-foot-tall painting of himself."
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