President Trump is dissolving his charity amid an ongoing lawsuit that alleges he used it for personal and political benefit.
New York Attorney General Barbara Underwood said Tuesday that the Trump Foundation agreed to dissolve and and distribute its remaining assets to other charities under the supervision of her office.
The foundation was run by Trump and his three eldest children, Donald Jr., Ivanka, and Eric.
“Our petition detailed a shocking pattern of illegality involving the Trump Foundation — including unlawful coordination with the Trump presidential campaign, repeated and willful self-dealing, and much more,” Underwood said in a statement. “This amounted to the Trump Foundation functioning as little more than a checkbook to serve Mr. Trump’s business and political interests.”
Underwood is seeking $2.8 million in restitution and has asked a judge to prohibit Trump and his three children from serving on the boards of other New York charities.
A state judge ruled last month that the attorney general’s lawsuit, which was filed in June, could proceed against the president and his foundation over allegations that Trump and his family improperly used the charity to settle business disputes and help his presidential campaign.
The Washington Post has detailed over the months the alleged illegalities, including using the charity’s funds to pay legal settlements for Trump’s private business, purchase art for one of his golf clubs, and fund giveaways for his presidential campaign at Iowa rallies.
Trump has denied any wrongdoing. In December 2016, he said he would shut down the foundation to avoid conflicts of interest. The New York attorney general had ordered the charity to stop accepting donations in October 2016. It also said the foundation was not able to legally dissolve until the investigation was complete.
Trump formed the charity in 1988. The largest donation in its history, a $264,231 gift to the Central Park Conservancy in 1989, went to restore a fountain outside the Plaza Hotel when Trump owned it, according to the Washington Post.
It made its smallest donation that same year. The foundation paid $7 to the Boy Scouts, which was the same cost as yearly enrollment in the organization. Trump’s eldest son, Donald Jr., was 11 at the time.
Trump also used $25,000 of the charity’s funds to make a political donation to Florida’s Republican Attorney General Pam Bondi. The political donation was not filed as such with the IRS, as is required by law. It was instead listed as a gift to an unrelated charity in Kansas. Trump’s team blamed an accounting mistake for the mishap.
During the 2016 presidential campaign, Trump raised more than $2 million at an Iowa fundraiser that was given to the campaign. Investigators allege Trump’s campaign manager Corey Lewandowski decided how the money was used days before the Iowa caucuses.
“This is an important victory for the rule of law, making clear that there is one set of rules for everyone,” Underwood said, following the two-year investigation. “We’ll continue to move our suit forward to ensure that the Trump Foundation and its directors are held to account for their clear and repeated violations of state and federal law.”
