The New York Supreme Court has ordered President Donald Trump to pay $2 million for using charitable funds to bolster his 2016 campaign.
“Mr. Trump’s fiduciary duty breaches included allowing his campaign to orchestrate the Fundraiser, allowing his campaign, instead of the Foundation, to direct distribution of the Funds, and using the Fundraiser and distribution of the Funds to further Mr. Trump’s political campaign,” wrote Justice Saliann Scarpulla.
Scarpulla ordered $2 million in damages rather than the $2.8 million New York Attorney General Letitia James requested, since the misappropriated funds did “ultimately reach their intended destinations, i.e., charitable organizations supporting veterans.”
James celebrated the order on Thursday.
“The Trump Foundation has shut down, funds that were illegally misused are being restored, the president will be subject to ongoing supervision by my office, and the Trump children had to undergo compulsory training to ensure this type of illegal activity never takes place again,” she said in a statement. “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.”
The order is part of a lawsuit originally filed in June 2018 by then-New York AG Barbara Underwood, and centered on a 2016 Iowa fundraiser for veterans, the money from which went to the Trump Foundation.
The scandal-ridden Trump Foundation dissolved in December 2018.
Read the court order here:
