Trump Must Pay $2M For Misusing Foundation, NY Judge Rules

NEW YORK — A New York State judge slapped President Donald Trump with a $2 million penalty Thursday for misusing his eponymous charity to prop up his 2016 presidential campaign.

The Queens-born Republican must donate the money to eight nonprofits approved by the state attorney general's office, which accused the Trump Foundation of "persistent" illegal activity in a lawsuit last year, Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Saliann Scarpulla ruled.

Trump must pay damages for letting his political campaign decide who got more than $2.8 million the foundation raised at a January 2016 fundraiser in Iowa to benefit veterans charities, the judge ruled. State officials alleged Trump used the donations for political purposes by handing out large checks at campaign events.

Trump "breached his fiduciary duty" to his own charity by "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," Scarpulla wrote.

Attorney General Letitia James's office wanted Trump pay damages equal to the amount of money raised at the Iowa event. But Scarpulla decided on a smaller number because the money ultimately was distributed to charities serving veterans. She also declined to make him pay additional punitive damages.

The organizations set to receive donations from Trump include the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, the United Negro College Fund and the Children's Aid Society.

The attorney general's office said it has also reached agreements with Trump and his children — who served on the foundation's board of directors — to resolve other claims in the state's lawsuit.

Trump has admitted to personally misusing money at the foundation and agreed to report to James's office if he ever creates a new charity, state officials said. And Donald Trump Jr., Ivanka Trump and Eric Trump were forced to go through training on how to run a charity so more abuses do not take place on their watch, James's office said.

"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, a Democrat, said in a statement.

A Trump Foundation spokesperson said the organization is "proud" to donate the extra money after it agreed to shut down under a deal reached last year with then-Attorney General Barbara Underwoood.

Trump planned to dissolve the foundation and donate its remaining assets to charity after the 2016 election, but those gifts were delayed by the state's "politically motivated" lawsuit, the spokesperson said. The attorney general's office has stood by the merits of the case.

"We are pleased that the Court, in rejecting the Attorney General’s frivolous request for statutory penalties, interest and other damages, recognized that every penny ever raised by the Trump Foundation has gone to help those most in need," the foundation spokesperson said in a statement.