— --乌克兰钢铁巨头维克多·平丘克(Victor Pinchuk)向唐纳德·特朗普(Donald Trump)的慈善机构支付了15万美元，以预订这位当时的总统候选人在总统竞选早期通过卫星在基辅举行的一次会议上发表演讲。
“维克多是一个非常非常特别的人。一个特殊的企业家，”特朗普告诉与会者。
2015年9月，当平丘克将这笔钱支付给特朗普的慈善基金会时，这位乌克兰亿万富翁也是克林顿基金会的最大捐赠者之一。支付给特朗普基金会的款项直到本周才被披露，当时它出现在唐纳德·特朗普(Donald Trump)慈善基金会新提交的税务记录上，引起了克林顿夫妇一些最直言不讳的批评者的警觉。
《克林顿现金》一书的作者彼得·施韦泽说:“我认为这很麻烦。”该书记录了克林顿家族的慈善和政治利益的融合。“他是向克林顿基金会捐款的人，这是一个问题……我认为除了他们希望得到一些回报之外，没有其他方法可以解读这一点。”
平丘克的捐赠，由《华盛顿邮报》首次报道是特朗普家族经营的慈善机构，比庞大的克林顿基金会小得多，也更亲密。特朗普非营利组织去年总共收到了78万美元的捐款。
维克托·平丘克基金会办公室周三告诉美国广播公司新闻，这笔捐款是为了支持其说服西方政府在俄罗斯入侵面前帮助保护乌克兰领土完整的努力。
“维克多·平丘克基金会接触当选总统特朗普——以及其他世界领导人——的唯一原因是促进乌克兰与西方之间加强和持久的关系，”平丘克基金会的一名女发言人在回复问题的电子邮件中说。
“平克先生几年前在纽约见过特朗普先生，这就是邀请特朗普先生在是的会议上发言的原因，”这位女发言人说。
最终，特朗普发表了一场演讲，抨击奥巴马总统在支持乌克兰方面做得不够。
“我们与乌克兰的部分问题是，普京无论如何都不尊重我们的总统，”特朗普对与会者说。“普京不尊重我们的总统。”
在…里7月份出现在美国广播公司新闻节目《本周》中特朗普告诉乔治·斯特凡诺普洛斯(George Stephanopoulos)，在他看来，俄罗斯人民吞并的克里米亚似乎希望继续处于俄罗斯的控制之下，特朗普总统将“考虑”美国是否会承认俄罗斯对该领土的控制。
但是，特朗普也表示，如果他当选总统，他将确保俄罗斯不会进一步入侵乌克兰。
“他不会进入乌克兰，好吧，只是让你明白，”特朗普说。“你可以记下来。可以放下了。”
当被进一步问及俄罗斯目前在乌克兰的存在(克里米亚是乌克兰的一部分)时，特朗普承认俄罗斯已经“以某种方式”在乌克兰。
平丘克，乌克兰商人据报道价值约14.4亿美元他在制管行业发了财。他的岳父曾在1994年至2005年间担任乌克兰总统。
平丘克多年来向克林顿基金会捐赠了1000万至2500万美元，《纽约时报》报道称，他将自己的私人飞机借给了克林顿夫妇。他的名字也出现在美国国务院的电子邮件中，这些邮件被美国公民联合会(Citizens United)公开，被邀请与时任国务卿克林顿(Clinton)共进小型私人晚餐。
正是一系列事实助长了特朗普在竞选活动中对克林顿的金钱交易指控。
“他们应该把钱还给我，”特朗普一度提到克林顿夫妇。“完全影响她的国家，以及歧视女性、同性恋和其他所有人的国家。我是说，那笔钱应该还回去。他们不应该拿那笔钱。”
施韦策是特朗普过渡团队清理华盛顿改革的非正式顾问，他告诉美国广播公司新闻，他认为特朗普应该退还Pinchuk的钱。
“我认为需要进行的改革之一是，特朗普基金会不应接受美国或国际商人的任何捐赠，”他说。“这只是试图讨好当选总统的一个简单途径。”
施韦泽管理着政府责任研究所，这是一个保守的非营利性调查研究机构。特朗普备受争议的首席策略师斯蒂芬·班农(Stephen Bannon)是董事会成员。
唐纳德·特朗普(Donald Trump)在大选中意外获胜仅两周后提交的文件似乎还包括特朗普基金会的某种承认。该文件首次承认，特朗普基金会从事了一项被禁止的行为，即“自我交易”。
这份文件提供了与过去几年不同的关于慈善资金如何使用的答案，证实特朗普基金会的资金用于购买物品，包括一个签名的足球头盔和特朗普的大幅画像，这位亿万富翁在一次慈善拍卖中购买了这些物品。此前，《华盛顿邮报》的报道显示，该基金会还斥资解决涉及特朗普业务的法律纠纷。
这份文件发布在非营利跟踪网站GuideStar上，因为这位当选总统面临越来越多的审查，他计划在不到两个月的任期内将他的商业和政府活动分开。
虽然特朗普的过渡团队和特朗普组织尚未回应美国广播公司新闻的置评请求，但随着特朗普面临更大的压力，要求他解释他将如何在任期内避免将商业与政治混为一谈，这些爆料浮出了水面。
周二，美国司法部和德意志银行就其贷款行为正在进行的和解谈判引发了新的担忧。康涅狄格州民主党参议员、前联邦检察官理查德·布卢门撒尔(Richard Blumenthal)表示，他担心这些谈判可能会受到利益冲突的怀疑，因为该银行多年来已向特朗普提供了超过3亿美元的贷款。
布卢门撒尔告诉美国广播公司新闻，“这里需要的显然是一名独立的检察官，与司法部长没有任何联系，司法部长可能是唐纳德·特朗普的私人知己和竞选代理人。”
由于有人担心特朗普永远不会完全离开公司套房前往椭圆形办公室，这位当选总统已经开始在社交媒体上消除担忧。
“在选举之前，众所周知，我对世界各地的房地产都感兴趣。只有歪门邪道的媒体才把这当回事!”他在本周早些时候发了一条推特。
Trump Foundation Took Donations From Controversial Ukrainian Clinton Donor
— --A Ukrainian steel magnate, Victor Pinchuk, paid $150,000 to Donald Trump’s charity to book the then-presidential candidate to speak via satellite at a conference held in Kiev in the early days of the presidential campaign.
“Victor is a very, very special man. A special entrepreneur,” Trump told the gathering.
In September 2015, when Pinchuk paid the money to Trump’s charitable foundation, the Ukrainian billionaire was also one of the largest donors to the Clinton Foundation. The payment to the Trump Foundation went undisclosed until this week, when it surfaced on newly-filed tax records for Donald Trump’s charitable foundation, raising alarms from some of the Clintons' most vocal critics.
“I think it is troubling,” said Peter Schweizer, author of the book Clinton Cash, which documented the blending of the Clinton’s charitable and political interests. “He’s somebody that donated to the Clinton Foundation, and this is a problem…I think there's no other way to read it other than they are hoping to get some favor in return.”
Pinchuk’s donation,first reported by The Washington Post, was to the Trumps’ family-run charity, far smaller and more intimate than the vast Clinton Foundation. In total, the Trump non-profit took in $780,000 in contributions last year.
The Victor Pinchuk Foundation offices told ABC News on Wednesday the contribution was made to bolster its efforts to persuade Western governments to help protect the territorial integrity of Ukraine in the face of Russian incursions.
“The sole reason the Victor Pinchuk Foundation has reached out to President-elect Trump -- as well as other world leaders -- has been to promote strengthened and enduring ties between Ukraine and the West,” a spokeswoman for the Pinchuk foundation said in an emailed response to questions.
“Mr Pinchuk had met Mr Trump some years ago in New York, this is how the invitation for Mr Trump to speak at the YES meeting came about,” the spokeswoman said.
Ultimately, Trump delivered a speech that attacked President Obama for not doing enough to support Ukraine.
“Part of the problem we have with the Ukraine is that Putin does not respect our president whatsoever,” Trump told the gathering. “Putin does not respect our president.”
Inan appearance on ABC News' This Week program in July, Trump told George Stephanopoulos that -- in his view -- the people of Russia-annexed Crimea appear to want to remain under Russia's control, and that a President Trump would "look at" whether the U.S. would recognize Russian control of the territory.
But, Trump also said that if he were elected president, he would make sure that Russia would make no further incursions into Ukraine.
"He's not going into Ukraine, OK, just so you understand," Trump said. "You can mark it down. You can put it down."
Asked further about Russia's current presence in Ukraine, of which Crimea is part, Trump then acknowledged Russia was already in Ukraine "in a certain way."
Pinchuk, a Ukrainian business man who isreportedly worth some $1.44 billion, made his fortune in the pipe-making industry. His father in law father-in-law was president of Ukraine from 1994 to 2005.
Pinchuk donated between $10 million and $25 million to the Clinton Foundation over the years, and the New York Times reported that he lent his private plane to the Clintons. His name also appears in State Department emails made public by the group Citizens United as being invited to a small private dinner with then-Secretary Clinton.
It was a set of facts that fueled money-for-access allegations that Trump leveled against Clinton on the campaign trail.
“They should give the money back,” Trump said of the Clintons at one point. "Countries that influenced her totally and also countries that discriminated against women and gays and everybody else. I mean, that money should be given back. They should not take that money.”
Schweizer, who is informally advising the Trump transition team on reforms to clean up Washington, told ABC News he thinks Trump should give back the Pinchuk money.
“I think one of the reforms that needs to take place is that the Trump Foundation should not take any donations from businessmen from the United States or internationally,” he said. “It's just simply a gateway to trying to curry favor with the president-elect.”
Schweizer runs the Government Accountability Institute, a conservative nonprofit investigative research organization. Stephen Bannon, Trump's controversial chief strategist, sits on the board.
Submitted just two weeks after Donald Trump’s upset electoral victory, the filings also appear to include an admission of sorts from the Trump Foundation. For the first time, the filing acknowledges that the Trump Foundation engaged in a prohibited practice known as “self-dealing.”
The document provides different answers than years past about how charity money was spent, confirming that the Trump Foundation funds were used for the purchase of items including an autographed football helmet and a large portrait of Trump that the billionaire bought at a charity auction. The disclosure follows reports from The Post that indicate the Foundation also spent funds to settle legal disputes involving the Trump business.
The document, which was posted to non-profit tracking site GuideStar, comes as the president-elect faces mounting scrutiny over how he plans -- if at all -- to separate his business and governmental activities after he assumes office in less than two months.
While the Trump transition team and the Trump Organization have not responded to ABC News request for comment, the revelations land as Trump comes under greater pressure to explain how he’ll avoid mixing business with politics when in office.
On Tuesday, new concerns emerged about ongoing settlement talks between the U.S. Department of Justice and Deutsche Bank over its lending practices. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat from Connecticut and a former federal prosecutor, said he was concerned those talks could be tainted by suspicions over a conflict of interest since the bank has loaned Trump more than $300 million over the years.
Blumenthal told ABC News “what’s needed here is clearly an independent prosecutor, without any connection to an Attorney General who likely will be someone who is a personal confidant and campaign surrogate for Donald Trump.”
As concerns have been raised that Trump will never fully leave the corporate suite for the oval office, the president-elect has taken to social media to allay concerns.
“Prior to the election it was well known that I have interests in properties all over the world. Only the crooked media makes this a big deal!” he tweeted earlier this week.
