The Donald J. Trump Foundation has agreed to dissolve under judicial supervision amid an ongoing lawsuit concerning its finances, according to a document filed Tuesday in Manhattan Supreme Court by the New York state Attorney General’s office.
The dissolution of President Donald Trump’s charity resolves one element of the attorney general’s civil lawsuit against the foundation, which includes claims that the President and his children violated campaign finance laws and abused its tax-exempt status. The lawsuit will continue in court because it also seeks two other outcomes: $2.8 million in restitution, plus penalties, and a ban on Trump and his three eldest children serving on the board of any other New York nonprofit.
The agreement to dissolve, signed by both the foundation and Attorney General Barbara Underwood’s office, also allows the attorney general’s office to review the recipients of the charity’s assets. The most recent tax return filed by the foundation listed its net assets at slightly more than $1.7 million.
“Our petition detailed a shocking pattern of illegality involving the Trump Foundation — including unlawful coordination with the Trump presidential campaign, repeated and willful self-dealing, and much more. This amounted to the Trump Foundation functioning as little more than a checkbook to serve Mr. Trump’s business and political interests,” Underwood said in a statement Tuesday.
“This is an important victory for the rule of law, making clear that there is one set of rules for everyone,” Underwood said. “We’ll continue to move our suit forward to ensure that the Trump Foundation and its directors are held to account for their clear and repeated violations of state and federal law.”
The Trump Foundation did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The judge overseeing the lawsuit must approve the stipulation in order for it to go into effect and will oversee the dissolution of the foundation. The stipulation comes after a November ruling by Justice Saliann Scarpulla that allowed the lawsuit to move forward, denying a motion by the foundation to dismiss the case.
