Trump Charitable Foundation Was Illegally Used to Support Campaign, Underwood Alleges in Suit
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President Donald Trump (Photo: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg)[/caption] New York State Attorney General Barbara Underwood filed suit on Thursday against President Donald Trump and his children over misuse of their family’s charitable organization, the Trump Foundation. The lawsuit alleges the foundation was illegally used to support Trump’s 2016 bid for president. It also alleges the foundation was used to pay off the president’s legal obligations, promote Trump brands and purchase personal items. “The Attorney General’s Investigation found that the Foundation is little more than an empty shell that functions with no oversight from its board of directors,” the lawsuit reads. Underwood is asking for the foundation to be dissolved and is seeking to ban Trump from serving as a director of a not-for-profit organization in New York state for 10 years. She’s also asking for $2.8 million in restitution. A spokeswoman for the Trump Foundation responded to the lawsuit, saying the foundation already has plans to dissolve and has not operated illegally in the past. “This is politics at its very worst. The Foundation has donated over $19 million to worthy charitable causes—more than it even received,” the spokeswoman said. “The reason the Foundation was able to donate more than it took in is because it had little to no expenses.” “The Foundation currently has $1.7 million remaining which the NYAG has been holding hostage for political gain. This is unconscionable—particularly because the Foundation previously announced its intention to dissolve more than a year and a half ago,” the spokeswoman continued. Trump responded to the lawsuit himself on Twitter, saying “The sleazy New York Democrats, and their now disgraced (and run out of town) A.G. Eric Schneiderman, are doing everything they can to sue me on a foundation that took in $18,800,000 and gave out to charity more money than it took in, $19,200,000. I won’t settle this case!” The case is being handled by Underwood, who replaced Schneiderman earlier this year after he resigned amid domestic abuse allegations. The lawsuit alleges that Trump’s presidential campaign coordinated with the foundation on a nationally televised charitable fundraiser Trump held in Iowa in January 2016. The fundraiser was held less than a week before the Iowa caucuses on Feb. 1, 2016. Underwood’s investigation found that Trump campaign officials were deeply involved in organizing the event, including former White House Communications Director Hope Hicks, who arranged speakers for the fundraiser. The fundraiser brought in $5.6 million in donations, $2.8 million of which were contributed directly to the foundation. Corey Lewandowski, Trump’s former campaign manager, asked officials from the Trump Foundation to make grants in Iowa two days before the caucuses, the lawsuit says. “Is there any way we can make some disbursements this week while in Iowa? Specifically on Saturday,” Lewandowski wrote in an email to Allen Weisselberg, executive vice president and chief financial officer of the Trump Organization and treasurer of the foundation. The Iowa caucuses were held the following Monday.Weisselberg confirmed during testimony to the attorney general’s office that the Trump campaign directed him when and where to distribute funds from the foundation during the 2016 election.The foundation also was used to settle five self-dealing transactions that benefited Trump or his businesses, the lawsuit says. Those included a $100,000 payment to settle legal claims against the Mar-a-Lago resort, Trump’s private club in Florida. The payment was made to a charitable foundation to settle legal claims with the city of Palm Beach, Florida.A $158,000 payment was made in 2012 to the Martin B. Greenberg Foundation to settle legal claims against the Trump National Golf Club, Westchester, in Briarcliff Manor, New York. Three other payments of $32,000 or less were made to other charitable organizations to settle legal disputes as well.The lawsuit is the latest in a string of legal challenges to Trump and his administration from New York's attorney general since Trump took office in 2017.
