New York Attorney General Sues Trump, Foundation For Alleged Self-Dealing, Pattern of ‘Illegal Conduct’

Ken MeyerJun 14th, 2018, 11:37 am

The New York Attorney General’s office just brought a lawsuit against Donald Trump and his family, accusing the president’s charity organization of engaging in “a pattern of illegal conduct.”

Barbara Underwood‘s court documents claim that the Donald J. Trump Foundation violated multiple non-profit laws, illegally coordinated with the president’s 2016 campaign, and was used as a conduit for self-dealing business transactions.

BREAKING: New York AG announces lawsuit against Donald J. Trump Foundation and its board of directors over alleged violations of state and federal law, including “willful self-dealing transactions to benefit Mr. Trump’s personal and business interests.” pic.twitter.com/LHM6NfWecH

— NBC News (@NBCNews) June 14, 2018

“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. 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.”

For years, Trump has come under scrutiny for allegedly using his philanthropic organization for his own benefit. Various reports have previously described how Trump apparently used the foundation’s earnings to cover his legal expenses, advance his family’s business interests, and give himself gifts — like a portrait of himself.

The receipts are all contained within the lawsuit:

Donald Trump personally directed his Foundation funds to be used to settle a lawsuit related to Mar A Lago. Here is the receipt pic.twitter.com/00nFbQtrR4

— Sam Stein (@samstein) June 14, 2018