Donald Trump agrees to shut down his charity, accused of ‘a shocking pattern of illegality’ by New York attorney general
- The Trump Foundation will dissolve and its funds be disbursed to other charities, as New York pursues a lawsuit over its ‘wilful self-dealing’
- Trump seemingly used the charity for personal interests big and small, from fixing a fountain near his Plaza Hotel to paying his son’s US$7 Scout membership fee
US President Donald Trump has agreed to shut down his embattled personal charity and to give away its remaining money amid allegations that he used the foundation for his personal and political benefit, New York Attorney General Barbara Underwood announced Tuesday.
Underwood said the Donald J. Trump Foundation is dissolving as her office pursues its lawsuit against the charity, Trump and his three eldest children.
The suit, filed in June, alleged “persistently illegal conduct” at the foundation, which Trump began in 1987. Underwood’s office is continuing to seek more than US$2.8 million in restitution and has asked a judge to ban the Trumps temporarily from serving on the boards of other New York non-profit organisations.
Underwood said Tuesday that her investigation found “a shocking pattern of illegality involving the Trump Foundation – including unlawful coordination with the Trump presidential campaign, repeated and wilful self-dealing, and much more”.
“This is an important victory for the rule of law, making clear that there is one set of rules for everyone,” she added in a statement.
The shuttering comes after The Washington Post documented apparent lapses at the foundation. Trump used the charity’s money to pay legal settlements for his private business, to purchase art for one of his clubs and to make a prohibited political donation.