President-elect Donald Trump said he plans to shut down his charitable foundation, a decision that comes after reiterated disputes over how it collected and disbursed monies.
In a statement Saturday, Trump offered no timeline for when his foundation would close down, but said he had aimed his attorney to take the steps needed to close the charity.
" The Foundation has done immense good works over the years in contributing millions of dollars to countless worthy groups, including supporting veterans, law enforcement officers and children ," Trump said in the statement." However, to avoid even the appearance of any conflict with my role as President I have decided to continue to pursue my strong those who are interested in philanthropy in other routes ."
The Donald J. Trump Foundation has come under intense scrutiny this year after a series of reports in The Washington Post detailing its practices, including lawsuits in which Trump apparently applied the charity's fund to settle lawsuits involving his for-profit businesses.
New York's us attorney general has also been investigating the charity after some of these reports, and a spokeswoman for that office said the charity could not officially shut down until that probe is over.
" The Trump Foundation is still under investigation by this office and cannot legally dissolve until that investigation is complete ," Amy Spitalnick, the spokesperson, said in an email Saturday.
The foundation is unusual in that it largely collects and donates money from other people. In fact, in the six years old from 2009 to 2014, Trump told the Internal Revenue Service that he'd devoted his namesake foundation no money at all. The biggest donors in recent years were Vince and Linda McMahon, the pro-wrestling moguls, who made the Trump Foundation$ 5 million between 2007 and 2009. Trump recently nominated Linda McMahon to head the Small Business Administration.
Trump's foundation has also admitted in IRS tax filings for 2015 that it contravened a proscription against "self-dealing" that tells nonprofit leaders cannot use their charity's funds to help themselves, their relatives or their businesses.
In these tax filings, the charity checked "yes" in response to a question asking whether it had transferred any income or assets to" a disqualified person" -- a description that could have meant Trump, a relative or a Trump-owned business.
Trump has not said what exactly he did to violate the rule, or what he has paid the IRS in penalty taxes as a result. The IRS has not commented when asked whether it was investigating the Trump Foundation.
Trump's charity has been prohibited from fundraising by the office of New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman( D ), an action that came after The Post reported that the foundation had failed to register with the country. This meant the foundation had dodged annual audits required in the state of New York.
Schneiderman's office is also investigating the Trump foundation after reports in The Post describing apparent cases of self-dealing that date back to 2007. The Trump Foundation spent $30,000 to buy two large portraits of Trump himself, including one that was hung up in the athletics bar at a Trump-owned resort. Trump also appears to use $258,000 of his foundation's money -- legally earmarked for charitable purposes -- to settle suits involving two of his for-profit clubs.
In addition, the Trump foundation made a $25,000 endowment to a campaign committee backing Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi( R) even though nonprofits like the charity are not allowed to give political gifts. That endowment was made as Bondi's office was considering whether to investigate scam accusations against Trump University. Ultimately, Bondi's office did not pursue those allegations.
The foundation told the IRS it had $1.16 million in total assets by the end of 2015, recent developments tax filing available.
The move to shut down Trump's foundation, first reported Saturday by the New York Times, goes as the president-elect and his family are facing intense questions regarding how they will avoid conflicts of interest while he is in the White House.
" The announcement that the Foundation will be shut down is a necessary first step for the incoming administration to avoid massive ethics troubles, but it does not come close to ending the narrative ," said Noah Bookbinder, executive director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethic in Washington, a watchdog group aligned with friends of Hillary Clinton. The group's tips and research helped expose some of the Trump foundation's apparent violations of the law.
In a statement, Bookbinder said that the Trump charity's" past the case of an wrongdoing must be fully investigated" and called on the president-elect to" sell his businesses and take comprehensive steps to prevent conflicts of interest for him and his administration.
Trump has said his two adults sons will run his company, but he has not details yet regarding how he will extricate himself from his complex network of businesses. He deferred a news conference this month meant to address the issue and has not rescheduled it yet.
In another case of Trump apparently trying to wrap up lingering questions and legal question before he takes office, he agreed to settle fraud claims against his defunct Trump University real estate seminars. A federal judge this week made preliminary approving to a deal in which Trump would pay $25 million as part of the settlement.
Earlier this week, Trump's eldest son, Eric, said he was suspending his charitable foundation after facing questions about whether donors could receive special access.
The Eric Trump Foundation, founded in 2007, creates more than $1.5 million a year through a golf tournament and other events, and it passes on the bulk of its fund to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, a pediatric-cancer center in Memphis.
The president-elect was critical of government decisions regarding his son's foundation, describing him as unfair in a pair of messages this week on Twitter.
" Isn't this a ridiculous dishonor ?" the elder Trump wrote." He loves these children, has raised millions of dollars for them, and now must stop. Incorrect answer !"
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