US President Donald Trump has agreed to dismantle his family’s charitable Trump Foundation amid serious allegations it’s only really been charitable to those with the last name ‘Trump’.
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The announcement comes as part of a lawsuit filed by the New York State Attorney General’s office, which alleges the Foundation repeatedly breached campaign finance laws and routinely used donated funds to service Trump-related business endeavours.
In a statement, New York Attorney General Barbara Underwood said the Trump Foundation was party to “a shocking pattern of illegality” in its dealings, making the charity “little more than a checkbook to serve Mr Trump’s business and political interests.”
The lawsuit alleges Trump’s staff directed $3.9m raised during a 2016 Trump Foundation fundraiser for veterans to groups which would benefit Trump’s presidential campaign.
It is also alleged that Trump directed $139,000 of Trump Foundation funds to service a legal settlement incurred by his Mar-A-Lago resort in Florida.
That’s not the only interesting tidbit alleged by the lawsuit involving Florida, either. It is claimed that Trump bid nearly $14,000 of his charity’s funds on a massive portrait of himself – and that the painting was then hung in his hotel in Doral, Florida.
Even seemingly innocuous donations have been questioned by the lawsuit, including the Foundation’s 1989 pledge of roughly $370,000 to refurbish a fountain on the edge of New York City’s Central Park, which sits directly in front of one of Trump’s flagship hotels.
The foundation’s assets are set to be disseminated to other charities. The lawsuit is far from over, though: the New York state Attorney General’s office is still seeking nearly $4 million in restitution, and to bar Trump’s three eldest children Eric, Ivanka, and Don Jr from serving as board members on any charity based in New York.
