New York sues Trump and his charity over 'self-dealing'

By Jonathan Stempel and Jonathan Allen

 

FILE PHOTO: Donald Trump in Washington, U.S., January 20, 2017. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File Photo

 

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The New York state attorney general sued U.S. President Donald Trump, three of his children and his foundation on Thursday, saying he illegally used the nonprofit as a personal "checkbook" for his own benefit, including his 2016 presidential campaign.

 

Barbara Underwood, the attorney general, asked a state judge to dissolve the Donald J. Trump Foundation and to ban Trump, his sons Donald Jr. and Eric, and his daughter Ivanka from holding leadership roles in New York charities. The three children joined the foundation's board in 2006, although Ivanka stepped down to work at the White House in 2017.

 

Underwood said her office's 21-month investigation, begun under her predecessor Eric Schneiderman, uncovered "extensive unlawful political coordination" by the foundation with Trump's campaign, as well as "repeated and willful self-dealing" to benefit Trump's personal, business and political interests.

 

Among the transactions the lawsuit cited as illegal was a $10,000 payment to the Unicorn Children's Foundation for a portrait of Trump purchased at a fundraising auction in 2014. The portrait would end up decorating a wall at Trump's Doral golf resort near Miami, the Washington Post reported.

 

Another $100,000 (75,272.86 pounds) went to another charity in 2007 to settle a legal dispute over a flagpole erected in violation of local ordinances at Mar-a-Lago, Trump's private club and sometime residence in Palm Beach, Florida.

 

"Mr. Trump ran the Foundation according to his whim, rather than the law," the lawsuit https://on.ny.gov/2lbdv0V said.

 

The lawsuit, filed on Trump's 72nd birthday in the state Supreme Court in Manhattan, seeks $2.8 million of restitution plus penalties, a 10-year ban on Trump serving as a director of a New York nonprofit, and one-year bans for his children.

 

"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," Underwood said in a statement. "That is not how private foundations should function."

 

The foundation had no employees, had never written a required protocol for disbursing funds and its board of directors, which "existed in name only," had not met since 1999, the lawsuit said.

 

The Republican president attacked the lawsuit in a series of posts on Twitter that blamed Democratic politicians in his home state.

"I won't settle this case!" Trump wrote, calling the lawsuit ridiculous and engineered by "sleazy New York Democrats."

 

During the 2016 presidential race, Trump frequently derided a charity run by the family of his Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton, saying without proof that the former secretary of state gave favorable treatment to the Clinton Foundation's wealthy donors.

 

Both Clinton and the Clinton Foundation, best known for helping to lower the cost of HIV drugs in the developing world, dismissed those attacks as political mudslinging.

 

The Trump Foundation issued a statement criticizing the latest lawsuit as "politics at its very worst" and accusing the attorney general of holding its $1.7 million in remaining funds "hostage for political gain."

 

The New York City-based foundation said in a statement it had disbursed more than $19 million to "worthy charitable causes" since its founding in 1987. Trump himself had contributed more than $8 million, and the foundation had already announced its intention to dissolve in 2016, the statement said.

 

FUNDRAISER FOR VETERANS

The lawsuit adds to Trump's legal problems, including an investigation by Special Counsel Robert Mueller into whether his 2016 campaign colluded with Russia. Trump has denied there was any collusion, and Russia has denied meddling in the election.

 

The lawsuit challenges the Trump Foundation's role in an Iowa fundraiser for military veterans that Trump organized in 2016 instead of taking part in one of the Republican debates.

 

Some $2.8 million went to the foundation, the lawsuit said, and the foundation wrongly ceded control of those funds to Trump's campaign staff, who wrongly disbursed grants at campaign rallies for Trump's political benefit. Tax-exempt nonprofit groups are legally required to avoid partisan politics.

 

The lawsuit said Corey Lewandowski, then Trump's campaign manager, directed some of the funds to be disbursed in Iowa shortly before its caucuses, where voters from the state gather in the first electoral competition to choose parties' presidential nominees.

 

Lewandowski, who is not a target of the lawsuit, did not respond to a request for comment.

 

Paul S. Ryan, head of litigation at Common Cause, a nonpartisan watchdog group in Washington, said the New York filing provides details of actions that could also violate a federal ban on campaigns funneling "soft money" through nonprofits.

 

"This involvement of the Trump campaign in the foundation's disbursements right before the Iowa caucuses may very well violate the campaign finance law soft money ban," Ryan said in an interview.

 

The attorney general said she also sent letters about possible breaches of federal law to the Federal Election Commission (FEC) and Internal Revenue Service. Both agencies declined to comment.

 

(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Additional reporting by Ginger Gibson, Makini Brice and Doina Chiacu in Washington and Brendan Pierson and Jonathan Allen in New York; Editing by David Gregorio and Chizu Nomiyama)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2018-06-15

Don, Don Jr (Sonny) & Fredo, interesting.

Edited June 14, 20188 yr by Cats4ever

No, it cannot be - I mean that would be using the charity to benefit Mr Trump - and he is an honourable man.

 

Could it be that he was using the cash for funding research into the debilitating condition "bonespurs" - known for affecting the lives of so many promising young men...

What did you say, pardon, yes I think I will.

2 minutes ago, simoh1490 said:

What did you say, pardon, yes I think I will.

State charges and convictions are beyond a President’s power of pardon.

1 minute ago, Chomper Higgot said:

State charges and convictions are beyond a President’s power of pardon.

Oustanding news!

1 hour ago, webfact said:

"Mr. Trump ran the Foundation according to his whim, rather than the law,"

Since applied to a whole country. He serves himself.

Trump (man who claims to be a Billionaire) and his children plunder a charity that raised money from public donations.

 

The Trumps telling the public their donations are going to help children with cancer.

 

Next time you hear the term “Trump hater” keep in mind it is the kind of person and family that plunders a children’s cancer charity that is being hated.

Oh dear.  Sued for self-dealing and accused of using the charity for corporate & political interests, so what do they do?  They prove the Attorney General's point by putting out a response from their corporate e-mail account.

 

 

Also, the org gave away more money that it received?  Wouldn't that mean it's deep in debt now?

 

Furthermore, Ivanka & Eric Trump violated numerous laws in their management of the org.  Maybe they should be separated from their families and detained in a tent city until we can get them arraigned.

WaPo: Searching for evidence of Trump’s personal giving

 

"For months, The Washington Post has been looking for evidence to back up a key claim Donald Trump makes about himself: that, in recent years, he has given millions of dollars to charity out of his own pocket. There is no evidence of that in the files of Trump's nonprofit, the Donald J. Trump Foundation. And Trump has not released his tax returns, which would detail his recent charitable giving."

 

 

9 minutes ago, Chomper Higgot said:

The Trumps telling the public their donations are going to help children with cancer.

 

Lying again.  "American Cancer Society -> No Comment"

 

12 minutes ago, attrayant said:

Oh dear.  Sued for self-dealing and accused of using the charity for corporate & political interests, so what do they do?  They prove the Attorney General's point by putting out a response from their corporate e-mail account.

 

 

Also, the org gave away more money that it received?  Wouldn't that mean it's deep in debt now?

 

Furthermore, Ivanka & Eric Trump violated numerous laws in their management of the org.  Maybe they should be separated from their families and detained in a tent city until we can get them arraigned.

...or perhaps the re-purposed Walmart where children are being held away from their parents.  Ya, Walmart,  a better place for the Trump kids.

The man-child (and his spawn) being caught red-handed lying stealing and cheating?

Quelle surprise!!!

Red-handed?  Now hold on that's a little harsh, I mean it's not like they have actual receipts with Trump's signat...

 

 

oops never mind.

3 minutes ago, attrayant said:

Red-handed?  Now hold on that's a little harsh, I mean it's not like they have actual receipts with Trump's signat...

 

 

oops never mind.

Ah, the hands.....the small small hands

It's more BLAH from the Dems.  Scraps to create more headlines while Trump gets s**t done!

3 minutes ago, FitnessHealthTravel said:

It's more BLAH from the Dems.  Scraps to create more headlines while Trump gets s**t done!

Does this mean you don't care about the Trumps pilfering a charity foundation?

9 minutes ago, FitnessHealthTravel said:

It's more BLAH from the Dems.  Scraps to create more headlines while Trump gets s**t done!

S**t certainly describe his presidency so far. 

11 minutes ago, FitnessHealthTravel said:

It's more BLAH from the Dems.  Scraps to create more headlines while Trump gets s**t done!

You're right about the s**t part.

Of course "trump" fans don't even want to know the facts.

 

Quote

 

Grifters ain’t gonna gift.

...

Though they were fantasies in so many other ways, most of Donald Trump’s scams — from bankrupt casinos to phony universities — never really pretended to be in the public interest. But his foundation, like his presidency, does. And like everything else with the Trump name slapped on it, neither is remotely what it purports to be.

 

http://www.paywallnews.com/life/Opinion-|-Donald-Trump’s-Charity-Begins--and-Ends--at-Home.BJ2vGcxbm.html

Who would have thought that stealing from funds meant for veterans was part of making America great? I tell ya the man is deep!

1 minute ago, Emster23 said:

Who would have thought that stealing from funds meant for veterans was part of making America great? I tell ya the man is deep!

The next president needs to invest a lot more in education to teach people not to fall for another criminally corrupt dictator-wanna-be con man. People close to his home, where he was known best, had already figured out what he was. 

https://edition.cnn.com/2018/06/14/opinions/obama-trump-double-standard-obeidallah/index.html

21 minutes ago, FitnessHealthTravel said:

It's more BLAH from the Dems.  Scraps to create more headlines while Trump gets s**t done!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iTACH1eVIaA

 

MAWA!!!

Kinda goes with insulting POWs arresting women in distress and locking up their kids stabbing allies in the guts and sucking up to dictators yup true to form .way beyond sad Donald way beyond

4 minutes ago, Tug said:

Kinda goes with insulting POWs arresting women in distress and locking up their kids stabbing allies in the guts and sucking up to dictators yup true to form .way beyond sad Donald way beyond

Yes, there were some naive people that had hopes that once elected he might normalize and govern with some degree of rationality. It turns out his performance is much worse than even pessimistic expectations and now certainty that he will never improve. He doesn't want to even if he could. 

SO-MUCH-WINNING!

17 minutes ago, Becker said:

https://edition.cnn.com/2018/06/14/opinions/obama-trump-double-standard-obeidallah/index.html

Exactly … the "Yes I can, and I Don't care" Trump's achievements list 

Edited June 15, 20188 yr by Opl

I have to ask, is someone who steals from charities, that's kids, veterans, etc. someone you can trust to run a Government? I am amazed that anyone with a jot of decency, can continue to defend this man.

I think you're all being too hard on Trump. It's easy to feel sorry for the poor and the ill and give them charity. But it takes a supernatural amount of empathy for a billionaire to feel sorry for himself.

31 minutes ago, darksidedog said:

I have to ask, is someone who steals from charities, that's kids, veterans, etc. someone you can trust to run a Government? I am amazed that anyone with a jot of decency, can continue to defend this man.

Has this been established?  I thought the suit had just been filed. 

1 hour ago, FitnessHealthTravel said:

It's more BLAH from the Dems.  Scraps to create more headlines while Trump gets s**t done!

Yes.  They're really pissed about the historic Singapore Summit.