NEW YORK – New York Attorney General Barbara D. Underwood on Thursday announced a lawsuit against the Donald J. Trump Foundation, and its directors, Donald J. Trump (“Mr. Trump”), Donald J. Trump, Jr., Ivanka Trump, and Eric Trump. The petition filed alleges a pattern of persistent illegal conduct, occurring over more than a decade, that includes extensive unlawful political coordination with the Trump presidential campaign, repeated and willful self-dealing transactions to benefit Mr. Trump’s personal and business interests, and violations of basic legal obligations for non-profit foundations. The Attorney General initiated a special proceeding to dissolve the Trump Foundation under court supervision and obtain restitution of $2.8 million and additional penalties. The AG’s lawsuit also seeks a ban from future service as a director of a New York not-for-profit of 10 years for Mr. Trump and one year for each of the Foundation’s other board members, Donald Trump Jr., Ivanka Trump, and Eric Trump. The Attorney General also sent referral letters today to the Internal Revenue Service and the Federal Election Commission, identifying possible violations of federal law for further investigation and legal action by those federal agencies.
As alleged in the petition, Mr. Trump used the Trump Foundation’s charitable assets to pay off his legal obligations, to promote Trump hotels and other businesses, and to purchase personal items. In addition, at Mr. Trump’s behest, the Trump Foundation illegally provided extensive support to his 2016 presidential campaign by using the Trump Foundation’s name and funds it raised from the public to promote his campaign for presidency, including in the days before the Iowa nominating caucuses.
“As our investigation reveals, the Trump Foundation was little more than a checkbook for payments from Mr. Trump or his businesses to nonprofits, regardless of their purpose or legality,” said Attorney General Underwood. “This is not how private foundations should function and my office intends to hold the Foundation and its directors accountable for its misuse of charitable assets.”
The Attorney General’s investigation found that Trump Foundation raised in excess of $2.8 million in a manner designed to influence the 2016 presidential election at the direction and under the control of senior leadership of the Trump presidential campaign. The Foundation raised the funds from the public at the nationally televised fundraiser Mr. Trump held in lieu of participating in the presidential primary debate in Des Moines, Iowa, on January 28, 2016. In violation of state and federal law, senior Trump campaign staff, including Campaign Manager Corey Lewandowski, dictated the timing, amounts, and recipients of grants by the Foundation to non-profits, as evidenced by communications between Campaign staff and Foundation representatives:
At least five $100,000 grants were made to groups in Iowa in the days immediately before the February 1, 2016 Iowa caucuses.
The Trump Foundation also entered into at least five self-dealing transactions that were unlawful because they benefitted Mr. Trump or businesses he controls. These include a $100,000 payment to settle legal claims against Mr. Trump’s Mar-A-Lago resort; a $158,000 payment to settle legal claims against his Trump National Golf Club in 2008 from a hole-in-one tournament; and a $10,000 payment at a charity auction to purchase a painting of Mr. Trump that was displayed at the Trump National Doral in Miami. Following commencement of the Attorney General’s investigation, the Foundation paid excise taxes on three of the transactions and Mr. Trump restored funds for the transactions to the Foundation, but the Foundation has not paid excise taxes on the Mar-A-Lago or Trump National Golf Club transactions.
As described in the Attorney General’s petition, none of the Foundation’s expenditures or activities were approved by its Board of Directors. The investigation found that the Board existed in name only: it did not meet after 1999; it did not set policy or criteria for choosing grant recipients; and it did not approve of any grants. Mr. Trump alone made all decisions related to the Foundation.
The Attorney General’s lawsuit seeks an order finding that the Foundation’s directors breached their fiduciary duties requiring them to make restitution for the harm that resulted, requiring Mr. Trump to reimburse the Foundation for its self-dealing transactions and to pay penalties in an amount up to double the benefit he obtained from the use of Foundation funds for his campaign, enjoining Mr. Trump from service for a period of ten years as a director, officer, or trustee of a not-for-profit organization incorporated in or authorized to conduct business in the State of New York, and enjoining the other directors from such service for one year (or, in the case of the other directors, until he or she receives proper training on fiduciary service). To ensure that the Foundation’s remaining assets are disbursed in accordance with state and federal law, the lawsuit seeks a court order directing the dissolution of the Foundation under the oversight of the Attorney General’s Charities Bureau.
In addition to filing its dissolution petition, the Office of the Attorney General sent referral letters to the Federal Election Commission and the Internal Revenue Service. These letters set forth in specific detail the underlying facts that have led the Attorney General to conclude that additional investigation and potential further legal action by these federal authorities are warranted.
This case is being handled by Matthew Colangelo, Executive Deputy Attorney General, James Sheehan, Chief of the Charities Bureau, Laura Wood, Senior Advisor and Special Counsel, Assistant Attorney General Yael Fuchs, Co-Chief of the Enforcement Section of the Charities Bureau, and Assistant Attorneys General Steven Shiffman and Peggy Farber of the Charities Bureau. This matter is being overseen by Chief Deputy Alvin Bragg and Chief of Staff and Deputy Attorney General Brian Mahanna.
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!…
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 14, 2018
So we have this billionaire who gives up his cushy lifestyle to become President and take a ration of shit from the Media War Machine and all the dip ship bloggers on the internet so he could join the Russians and take over America.
” low IQ responses” That is ironic considering your English skills.
Donkey Girl just doesn’t get it.
The truth to liberal corrupt democraps is the same as Holding the HOLY Cross in front of one or all of these Anti American liberal democraps – They are bad to the BONE as George Throgooood would say. Old men know when he or she is being lied to and conned – so take your low IQ responses to Kenyon – or Chitcago – or Hillary headquarters.
Your grammar is terrible & your spelling is atrocious.
And the rest of your comment is just nonsensical babble.
Yep, you’re a Trump supporter for sure.
And what the hell do you mean by”responses to Kenyon”?
You talking about Kenyon Minnesota?
But then again you are the old man that constantly assails this site with your lies, BS, hypocrisy
and stupidity.
The Trump family never charged or received ANY money from this foundation – As the president gives HIS SALARY TO CHARITY – works for nothing ! PS – 50% of all the money in this foundation was GIVEN BY THE TRUMP FAMILY ! Want corruption ? Go to the CLINTON FOUNDATION – ALL OF AMERICAN KNOWS ITS CORRUPT !
You ignorant fool…
“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”.
“Trump spent more than a quarter-million dollars from his charitable foundation to settle lawsuits that involved the billionaire’s for-profit businesses”,
“In 2013, Trump used $5,000 from the foundation to buy advertisements touting his chain of hotels.”
And on and on it goes with the liar & corrupt Donald Trump, there are scores of instances where Trump used his foundation for personal gain.
Wake up people.
If ignorance was bliss you would be the happiest person on Earth.
Guess it’s okay though to sell 20% of Americans refined uranium to the Russians for 145 MILLION dollars and put the money in the Clinton Foundation _ These people should be in JAIL – Mueller too – he actually flew the uranium sample to Russia while he was Working ( head of FBI -farm boys of iowa) Now he’s on a liberal sideshow against Trump and the Republican party for Russian collusion – (Is this the height of conception ? the mainstream media keeps sprewing their liberal lies every day ? What a 2 tier justice system we have going in our country right now – We believe once we start throwing these POS in prison (will take years) but then again Trump and gang (US) will be in power for another 6+ years so enjoy your freedom liberal crooks -while you got it you treasons bastards.
“Is this the height of conception”
This epitomizes the level at which your stupidity resides, old man.
Liberal twist – the liberals always blame others for things they are doing – Hitlery Clinton Foundation – keep 95% of all contributions -Iegal or not – MILLIONS including the Haiti refugee program which they made millions and only gave back 5% – a real government coverup while she was secretary of state – crooked as the rest of the Democrap mob – so what so they do? – Start a rumor that someone else is a crook. These deep state rats have look no further than the mirror to see the real cause of corruption in American along with their totally owned FBI and Department of Justice ( that’s a laugh). Their time will surely come and the people siding with them will pay a heavy price.
Just when one thinks that you could not be possibly more stupid & ignorant, you prove us wrong.
Te depths of your idiocy seems to know no limits.
You are to dumb to understand.
Learn the difference between “to” and “too” and when to use them properly.
That way you will not appear to be the stupid old goat that lives on this site.
No one cares but a ignorant, liberal school teacher, Donkey Girl.
It is not even a dent in his and his family’s daily theft from the American people.
Trump is the most corrupt, lying , thieving, cowardly and traitorous sack of shit that has ever sat in the Oval office.
But Trump supporters still buy into his bullshit, lies and traitorous ways.
Trump supporters are the most ignorant, gullible and outright stupid people in the country.
Donald Trump could tell those supporters to bend over and then screw them in the ass
(which he has already done figuratively, but they are too stupid to comprehend it) and they would just take it in the ass and say “Thank you Mr. Trump, I’m honored, my oblivious & simple-minded ass is always there for you”.
You Trumpsters are so predictable & such hypocrites, you do not address the issue, but just just spout out the same old BS, time after time “but, but, but Clinton or but, but, but Obama”
For 8 straight years under the Obama administration you people bitched, whined & moaned and then said ” Don”t bring up Bush, Obama is the President and it is all on him”
But now it is different, eh?
The one good that can be taken from this is that the majority of Trump’s base is made up of stupid old white men, and fortunately for our country, they won’t be around much longer.
Swap out Trumps name for Obama and the story would read the same. I don’t care for Trump either, but things weren’t much different under Obamas rule.
Life will go on no matter who the president is.
If you think that Trump is like Obama, or any other President Republican or Democrat in US history , then you are sorely delusional and oblivious to reality.
Trump will go down as the worst President that the US has ever had.
He’s a narcissistic liar, corrupt as hell, and a traitorous coward.
I suffer from no delusions, nor am I unable to perceive reality, thank you very much. I do rather think that Obama and Trump are not unlike each other.
Now might be a good time to stop all the hate mongering and let the president do his job, just the same as many presidents before him have been allowed to do the same.
“just the same as many presidents before him have been allowed to do the same.”
That is some funny stuff right there Harry, you should consider doing stand-up comedy.
You have professed to not like Trump, but all of your comments to this juncture point to the exact opposite
Harry, you are what is referred to as a “closet Trump supporter”, too ashamed & embarrassed to acknowledge that you support Trump.
Even though you are attempting to provide some insight as to my political leanings or whom I may or may not support, in this case you are wrong. I merely pointed out, we should allow a president to do the job they were elected to do. Using your logic, one could assume that you are/ were a Hillary Clinton supporter. Correct?
I feel there have been many bad presidents before Trump and I’m certain there will be more after him. One should not forget Carter and Nixon. In my opinion, they certainly were not the greatest presidents to ever hold office. I doubt America will ever see the day when they entire populace supports any president 100%.
Thanks for you analysis just the same.
Nice try Harry, but you are definitely a closet Trump supporter.
You stated “Using your logic”, well using your logic President Obama was accorded all of the opportunities to do his job.
Nothing is more further from the truth. and you damn well know it.
You right wingers and the vast majority of Republicans in Congress opposed & fought at every turn everything that Barack Obama tried to do. Seems your hypocrisy knows no limits.
As flawed as both Nixon and Carter were, that is nothing to the lies, corruption, and traiterous ways of one Donald J Trump.
Trump will go down as the biggest disgrace to the US presidency in history.
This should bring out all the Trumpster Dumpsters for sure.
The foundation paid out to charity more than it took in. Anyone with a brain can do the math.
This is totally bogus and they know it. He should counter sue the state of New York.
Just like he was going to sue all those women who raised sexual harassment claims against him? What happened there? Nothing because he knows he would lose just like he would lose here. He cheated and got caught. Sorry, eLViS, your boy is in trouble again.
He has already tried that and it did not bode well for him as Trump ended up paying 25 million dollars.
Trump is just a con-artist sleazebag without any morals, integrity or honor.
Finally. He is so corrupt.
But what about her emails? Lol
What about her e-mails genius? Where are they? When it comes to corruption nobody beats Bill and Hill.
Right after you answer my question Donkey.
Aren’t you going to answer the question? You are an imbecile. Was Bodacious your teacher?
AnonymousReply Thank you for your feedback. We will look into it.
June 16, 2018 at 9:35 pm
Aren’t you going to answer the question? You are an imbecile. Was Bodacious your teacher?