New York Attorney General Barbara Underwood sues Donald Trump, three of his children and his namesake foundation on Thursday, alleging illegal use of the private foundation for personal, business, and political expenses, according to the Washington Post.
ABC News reports that the attorney general is seeking to dissolve the foundation under court supervision and to obtain $2.8 million in restitution with additional penalties, after more than a decade of alleged illegal activity. Underwood is also asking the New York state judge to impose bans on Trump and his three children from holding any leadership roles in state charities.
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,” said Underwood.
The lawsuit states that the foundation raised money at a nationally televised fundraiser in January of 2016 to illegally support the Republican campaign, according to the Washington Post. Trump’s foundation also allowed the campaign staffers to order how the money was spent in grants.
President Trump attacked the allegations and lawsuit in a series of tweets, blaming the Democrats of his state.
So, the Democrats make up a phony crime, Collusion with the Russians, pay a fortune to make the crime sound real, illegally leak (Comey) classified information so that a Special Councel will be appointed, and then Collude to make this pile of garbage take on life in Fake News!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 14, 2018
The sleazy New York Democrats, and their now disgraced (and run out of town) A.G. Eric Schneiderman, are doing everything they can to sue me on a foundation that took in $18,800,000 and gave out to charity more money than it took in, $19,200,000. I won’t settle this case!…
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 14, 2018
….Schneiderman, who ran the Clinton campaign in New York, never had the guts to bring this ridiculous case, which lingered in their office for almost 2 years. Now he resigned his office in disgrace, and his disciples brought it when we would not settle.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 14, 2018
The 21-month investigation began with Underwood’s predecessor Eric Schneiderman in 2016 as Huffington Post reports. Their investigation found “extensive unlawful political coordination with the Trump presidential campaign, repeated and willful self-dealing transactions to benefit Mr. Trump’s personal and business interests, and violations of basic legal obligations for non-profit foundations.”
The Trump Foundation released a statement against the allegations calling it “politics at its worst”.