Trump forced to pay $2 Million to 8 Credible Charities

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The U.S President Donald Trump has paid 2 million U.S dollars to 8 charities as part of a court-ordered judgment against the president. Trump was alleged of self-dealing and using charitable donations for his campaign. Trump admitted to continuous violations of federal and state campaign finance laws by abusing the tax-exempt status of his Donald J. Trump Foundation and using it as little more than a chequebook to support his campaign and his business. He was ordered to make donations to 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.

Trump also agreed to distribute 1.8 million U.S dollars remaining in his foundation’s coffers among the same charities. Each of the 8 received just over 476,000 U.S dollars in total. The President said on Twitter last year that he won’t settle the case and called it a political attack from New York Democrats. It is noteworthy that a June 2018 lawsuit charged the foundation’s directors with ignoring their oversight duties while Trump used the foundation to support his campaign. Then-Attorney General Barbara Underwood’s investigation declared a shocking pattern of illegality that included unlawful coordination with the Trump presidential campaign, repeated, and willful self-dealing. The settlement included the dissolution of the foundation, as well as 19 factual admissions of their illegal activity.

Point to be noted that Trump also admitted he and his campaign took credit for the grants that the foundation made with funds he raised from the public. He also admitted using foundation funds to settle the legal obligations of companies he controlled and to pay for a portrait that cost him 10,000 U.S dollars. The New York Attorney General Letitia James said, “Charities aren’t a means to an end, which is why these damages speak to the president’s abuse of power and represent a victory for not-for-profits that follow the law. Funds have finally gone where they deserve to 8 credible charities. She said her 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”.