In a decision filed Thursday, New York State Justice Saliann Scarpulla ordered President Trump to pay $2 million to a group of non-profits as settlement for the New York state attorney general’s years-long investigation into the Trump Foundation for allegedly coordinating illegally with his 2016 campaign.
In the decision, Justice Scarpulla ruled that Trump allowed his campaign to put on a foundation fundraiser in January 2016, the money from which was used “to further Mr. Trump’s political campaign.” While Trump has been ordered to pay $2 million to charities, Scarpulla rejected the attorney general’s demand that Trump pay punitive damages or that he and his children be banned from serving on the board of any other nonprofit in the state.
Attorney General Letitia James, the third New York AG that has targeted Trump and his family’s foundation, declared the judge’s decision a “major victory.”
“The court’s decision, together with the settlements we negotiated, are a major victory in our efforts to protect charitable assets and hold accountable those who would abuse charities for personal gain,” James said in a statement Thursday reported by CNN. “My office will continue to fight for accountability because no one is above the law — not a businessman, not a candidate for office, and not even the President of the United States.”
President Trump issued his own statement Thursday that had a far different take on the outcome of the case. The attorney general, he said, is “deliberately mischaracterizing this settlement for political purposes.”
“I am the only person I know, perhaps the only person in history, who can give major money to charity ($19M), charge no expense, and be attacked by the political hacks in New York State. No wonder why we are all leaving!” Trump said in a statement posted on social media Thursday night.
“Every penny of the $19 million raised by the Trump Foundation went to hundreds of great charitable causes with almost no expenses,” he stressed.
“The New York Attorney General is deliberately mischaracterizing this settlement for political purposes,” the president charged. “In fact, the court rejected the Attorney General’s frivolous request for statutory penalties, interest and other damages.”
Trump then took shots at the three attorneys general that have targeted him over the years.
“It has been 4 years of politically motivated harassment — first by lightweight AG [Eric] Schneiderman, prior to his resignation for beating up women — then AG [Barbara] Underwood, who was impossible to deal with, and now AG Letitia James, who does not acknowledge that we gave 100% of the funds to great charities, but refuses to investigate the Clinton Foundation with all of its problems.”
“All they found was incredibly effective philanthropy and some small technical violations, such as not keeping board minutes,” Trump continued.
As for his agreement to settle, Trump said he’s “happy” to give $2 million more to worthy charities.
“We resolved the case with the understanding that all money previously in the foundation has gone to charity,”he concluded. “I am therefor happy to donate $2 million to the following worthy charities: Army Emergency Relief; Children’s Aid Society; City Meals on Wheels; Give an Hour; Martha’s Table; United Negro College Fund; United Way of Capital Area; and the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum.”
Trump’s comment about Schneiderman resigning “for beating up women” is a reference to the AG announcing his resignation amid multiple accusations by women of physical abuse. In a piece for The New Yorker published in May 2018, Jane Mayer and Ronan Farrow wrote that while Schneiderman “has raised his profile as a voice against sexual misconduct,” including suing Harvey Weinstein, the AG “faces a #MeToo reckoning of his own” — four women came forward to accuse him of physical abuse. Three hours after the publication of the report, Schneiderman resigned.
CNN provides some more background on the Trump Foundation case: “Filed in June 2018, the lawsuit alleged that the President and his three eldest children — Don Jr., Ivanka and Eric — violated federal and state campaign finance laws and abused the Donald J. Trump Foundation’s tax-exempt status. According to the lawsuit, the Trumps allowed the foundation to be used ‘as little more than a checkbook to serve Mr. Trump’s business and political interests.’ The attorney general’s office had sought several outcomes, including $2.8 million in restitution, plus penalties.”