President Donald Trump this week began paying the $2 million fine to various charities for criminally misusing money received by his Donald J. Trump Foundation. The money was to have been used for charitable purposes but was instead spent by the foundation to illegally fund Trump's 2016 campaign, purchase overpriced portraits of Trump and pay-off legal fees, among other crimes.
The court that ruled against Trump also ordered the closure of the Donald J. Trump Foundation. The foundation's $1.8 million in remaining funds were ordered given to other nonprofits under agreements between Trump's lawyers and the office of the New York Attorney General (AG), who is currently Letitia James.
Trump was successfully sued by the state of New York and by the state AG in 2018 over the illegal use of money intended for Trump's charity organization.
In a decision handed down on Nov. 7, New York state Judge Saliann Scarpulla imposed the $2 million penalties after Trump admitted to a series of criminal abuses detailed in the New York lawsuit brought against him in 2018.
Among other crimes, Trump admitted in a legal filing that he allowed his presidential campaign staff to coordinate with the Trump Foundation is holding a fundraiser for veterans before the 2016 Iowa caucuses. The event was designed "to further Mr. Trump's political campaign," said Judge Scarpulla.
James said New York's victory in the case is a "major victory in our efforts to protect charitable assets and hold accountable those who would abuse charities for personal gain."
"No one is above the law -- not a businessman, not a candidate for office, and not even the President of the United States," said James.
James said the $2 million was donated to "eight credible charities." The remaining $1.8 million held by the Donald J. Trump Foundation was also donated to these charities, which are the Army Emergency Relief, the Children's Aid Society, Citymeals-on-Wheels, Give an Hour, Martha's Table, the United Negro College Fund, the United Way of National Capital Area and the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum. Each of these nonprofits received over $475,000, said James.
The 2018 settlement was a huge humiliation for Trump. "I won't settle this case!" he tweeted when the New York AG filed its lawsuit against him and his foundation in June 2018. It also comes after another legal defeat in which Trump was found criminally responsible for duping people.
In 2018, Trump paid a $25 million settlement after a lawsuit filed in California by students who attended the defunct Trump University said they were the victims of fraud. The students were also received partial refunds for tuition paid.
