President Donald Trump has paid the $2 million court-ordered fine after he was found to have misused his Trump Foundation charity during the 2016 campaign.
“Not only has the Trump Foundation shut down for its misconduct, but the president has been forced to pay $2 million for misusing charitable funds for his own political gain,” New York Attorney General Letitia James said in a statement Tuesday. “Charities are not 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.”
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The $2 million will be distributed amongst eight different charities: 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 will also distribute the remaining $1.8 million of the foundation’s liquid assets to these charities.
Each charity will receive a total of $476,140.41.
“Funds have finally gone where they deserve — to eight credible charities. 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,” James said.
During the civil suit ruling in November, Trump recognized that his presidential campaign staff had coordinated with the Trump Foundation to host a televised fundraiser for veterans right before the 2016 Iowa caucuses.
The president also admitted to using the charity to pay for a $10,000, 6-foot portrait of him and spending $100,000 in foundation money on legal fees over an 80-foot flagpole he had built at his resort in Florida.
Trump will also face tighter restrictions should he choose to join the board of another New York charity. These include that the majority of the board members of the charity cannot be relatives of Trump, or have any business relationship with him, his companies or any companies owned by his family.
