President Donald Trump has agreed to shut down his New York charity amid allegations that he used the foundation for his own financial and personal benefit.
New York Attorney General Barbara Underwood announced her office reached a settlement with President Trump who agreed to shutter his Donald J. Trump Foundation, The Washington Post reports.
Underwood’s office filed a lawsuit against the foundation in June citing “persistently illegal conduct.”
“The Foundation was little more than a checkbook for payments to not-for-profits from Mr. Trump or the Trump Organization,” Underwood wrote in the lawsuit.
Underwood alleged “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 did not say whether any criminal charges would be pursued against the President or his foundation staffers.
“This is an important victory for the rule of law, making clear that there is one set of rules for everyone,” Underwood said in a statement.
A probe into the charity’s finances by The Washington Post found improper commingling of charitable funds into his private business. The Post alleged that Trump used the charity’s money to pay legal settlements for his private business.
Trump denied that his charity had done anything improper. In late 2016, he said he wanted to close the foundation after he won the election.
In a court filing in New York, Underwood said the remaining $1.75 million in the foundation’s bank accounts would be distributed to other charities approved by her office.
Her announcement led to accusations that Underwood allowed Trump to buy his way out of legal consequences.
