18th December, 2018
US President Donald Trump’s troubled charity foundation has agreed to close down amid allegations that he and others illegally misused its funds.
According to BBC, the move was announced by the Attorney General of New York State, Barbara Underwood, who will supervise the distribution of its remaining monies.
She has accused Mr Trump and his three eldest children of using it for private and political gain.
The foundation’s lawyer accused her of attempting to politicise the matter.
This is just one of several legal cases currently swirling around Mr Trump and his family. Others include a wide-ranging special counsel investigation into alleged ties between the Trump campaign and Russia headed by former FBI chief Robert Mueller.
Ms Underwood said the case against Mr Trump and his children Donald Jr, Ivanka and Eric would continue.
In a statement, she said there had been “a shocking pattern of illegality involving the Trump Foundation – including unlawful co-ordination with the Trump presidential campaign, repeated and wilful self-dealing, and much more”.
She continued: “This amounted to the Trump Foundation functioning as little more than a chequebook to serve Mr Trump’s business and political interests.”
Under the terms of the deal to shut down the foundation, Ms Underwood said, it could only be dissolved under judicial supervision and could only distribute its assets “to reputable organisations approved by my office”.
She added: “This is an important victory for the rule of law, making clear that there is one set of rules for everyone.
“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.”