(Michael Israel) 
 
 In 2007, Donald Trump bought a six-foot-tall portrait of himself at a fundraiser auction, and paid with $20,000 from his namesake charity, the Donald J. Trump Foundation. On Tuesday, artist Michael Israel -- the "speed painter" who painted the portrait of Trump -- released the first public photos of the portrait. Israel painted the piece in just five or six frenetic minutes, during a charity gala at Trump's own Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach, Fla. 
 
 Washington Post reporter David A. Fahrenthold has been searching for evidence of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump's charitable giving for months. Melania Trump originally placed a $10,000 bid on the painting, which she later doubled. But the check that paid for the painting came from the Donald J. Trump Foundation, rather than either of the Trumps' personal accounts. According to tax experts contacted by the Post, Trump may have broken "self-dealing" laws if he placed the portrait in one of his residences or business locations. The Republican nominee has made other questionable purchases using funds from his charity, including another portrait of himself he paid $10,000 for in 2014. In September, a television anchor for Univision booked a stay at Trump National Doral Miami, confirming reports that the portrait was hanging on a wall at the club. Israel painted the portrait just before it was auctioned off at Mar-a-Lago. While the exact location of the portrait is unknown, Israel's former manager told the Post that Melania Trump asked that the painting be sent to Trump's West Chester, N.Y., golf club.
– A tweet from Washington Post reporter David Fahrenthold offered a first glimpse to the masses Tuesday of something that's long been reported but not yet seen: the portrait of Donald Trump that Trump bought for $20,000 using money meant for his Trump Foundation charity. Artist Michael Israel, a "speed painter" who the Post says whipped up the 6-foot-tall depiction in "five or six frenzied minutes" during a 2007 charity gala at Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, released the public pics of the painting for the first time Tuesday. Melania Trump initially bid $10,000 during the event's auction, then was cajoled into doubling that; half the proceeds went to Israel, half to the children's charity the event was being held for. And those well versed in tax law say if that now-elusive painting is hanging in either one of Trump's homes or businesses, he could be breaking "self-dealing" laws. The only hint as to where the painting may be: Israel's former manager, who revealed in September that he was told by Melania to send the painting to a Trump golf club in Westchester, NY, where she planned to display it in "the boardroom or the conference room." The Hill notes that Trump paid $10,000 funneled from the Trump Foundation for another portrait of himself in 2004, with an eyewitness saying that painting is on display in Trump's National Doral Miami resort. (Meanwhile, a nude painting of Trump has caused quite a ruckus.)