NPR Questions Trump National LA's $5 Million To Charity

National Public Radio reporter Tom Dreisbach and the "Embedded" team explained his inquiry into Trump National LA's website claim that it has given $5 million to charitable causes (thanks reader Carl).

Now, the $800,000 that NPR was able to account for is a pretty nice number compared to many golf courses and should be admired.

But, when your course namesake is President of the United States and the claim is highlighted in bright lights, with a link explaining how to request charitable contributions from the course, the scrutiny is understandable.

Apparently much of the discrepancy involves the claiming of Trump National LA's range as open space.

DREISBACH: What we were able to account for is about $800,000 in donations - far short of that $5 million number. Now, the Trump Organization did not make any contact with us. They refused to answer any phone calls, emails. And one possibility is that they are claiming a conservation easement, which is a sort of controversial tax break that you can take. Basically, The Trump Organization said that their driving range, they were going to preserve it as open space in perpetuity. It's sort of a way of preserving open space and habitat, but in fact, as one charity expert told me, the driving range is still a driving range, so it doesn't really pass the smell test in terms of a charitable gift.