Donald Trump admits to misusing Trump Foundation charity funds for illegal political contributions, promoting his own campaign, and paying off business debts. A judge orders him to pay a $2 million fine (which is $6 million less than the Attorney General recommended).
His 19-paragraph admission is part of the settlement agreement in the case, which opened in June 2018.
As part of the settlement, Mr. Trump, who at first dismissed the suit as a political attack, made 19 detailed admissions, acknowledging, for example, that the foundation had purchased the $10,000 portrait of himself that was ultimately displayed at one of his Florida hotels.
He admitted to using the foundation’s money to settle obligations of some of his for-profit companies, including a golf club in Westchester County, N.Y., and Mar-a-Lago, his private club in Florida which he frequently visits.
And he admitted that the foundation had given his presidential campaign control over about $2.8 million that the foundation had raised at a veterans fund-raiser in Iowa in January 2016. Mr. Trump acknowledged the fund-raiser was in fact a campaign event.
After the news comes out, Trump goes to Twitter to deny any of it ever happened and claim he never admitted it.
Sources
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/potus-to-pay-2-million-admits-misuse-of-trump-foundation-funds-in-settlement-with-ny-ag
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1192594646691729408/photo/1
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/10/nyregion/trump-foundation-lawsuit-attorney-general.html
Photo: Public Domain
