NEW YORK -- U.S. President Donald Trump is paying up after conceding that he used his charitable foundation at times as a personal piggy bank.
Trump has wired USD $2 million to pay a court-ordered fine for misusing the Trump Foundation in part to further his business interests and 2016 presidential run, New York Attorney General Letitia James said Tuesday. The money will be distributed to eight charities.
About USD $1.8 million left in the Trump Foundationās bank account was also split among the nonprofits getting fine money, along with USD $11,525 that Trump paid back for spending foundation money on sports memorabilia and champagne at a charity gala.
New York state Judge Saliann Scarpulla imposed the penalty last month after Trump admitted to a series of abuses outlined in a lawsuit brought against him last year by Jamesā office.
āCharities are not a means to an end, which is why these damages speak to the presidentās abuse of power and represent a victory for not-for-profits that follow the law,ā James, a Democrat, said in a statement. āFunds have finally gone where they deserve ā to eight credible charities.ā
Trump sent the money in the past few weeks, but that development didnāt become public until the sides formally agreed Tuesday to close the case.
Jamesā office had sought to block Trump from writing off the fine payment as a charitable donation on his taxes, but Scarpulla hasnāt ruled on that request.
Trump Foundation lawyer Alan Futerfas declined to answer questions about Trumpās tax plans.
In a statement, he suggested James was making a big deal about Trumpās payment to distract from bad news in another case: a judgeās ruling that there was no proof Exxon Mobil misled investors over the costs of climate change.
āThe Foundation case settled weeks ago with all issues resolved and all funds going to charity,ā Futerfas said. āWe are very pleased with the result.ā
After Scarpullaās ruling last month, Trump assailed a series of Democratic attorneys general of New York who were involved with the suit, calling it ā4 years of politically motivated harassmentā and saying they should have spent their time investigating the Clinton Foundation.
Trump acknowledged in a legal filing that he allowed his presidential campaign staff to coordinate with the Trump Foundation in holding a fundraiser for veterans during the run-up to the 2016 Iowa caucuses. Scarpulla said the event was designed āto further Mr. Trumpās political campaign.ā
The president admitted, among other things, to arranging for the charity to pay USD $10,000 for a 6-foot portrait of him. He has also accepted restrictions on his involvement in other charitable organizations.
The settlement was an about-face for Trump. He had tweeted, āI wonāt settle this case!ā when it was filed in June 2018.
Trumpās fine and the charityās funds will be split evenly among eight organizations, including Citymeals on Wheels, the United Negro College Fund and the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum. Each charity is getting about USD $476,000.
Charities are barred from getting involved in political campaigns, but in weighing the Iowa fundraiser, Scarpulla gave Trump credit for making good on his pledge to give USD $2.8 million that his charity raised to veteransā organizations.
Instead of fining him that amount, as the attorney generalās office wanted, the judge trimmed it to USD $2 million and rejected a demand for punitive damages and interest.
At the time of the Iowa fundraiser, Trump was feuding with then-Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly and refusing to participate in the networkās final Republican presidential primary debate before the Iowa caucuses.
Instead, he held a rally at the same time as the debate at which he called on people to donate to veteransā charities. The foundation acted as a pass-through for those contributions.
