Another shoe dropped in the saga of Donald Trump today as a New York judge has ordered the billionaire POTUS to pay about 2 million dollars to a variety of charities. They could be ones that he previously stiffed in favor of buying memorabilia and other things for himself and others — but the list is so far not disclosed.
In the agreements, Trump was forced to admit to personally misusing Trump Foundation funds and agreed to pay back $11,525 in the organization’s funds he spent on sports memorabilia and champagne at a charity gala. He also agreed to restrictions on his involvement in other charitable organizations. The settlement also includes the judge signing off on payments of about 1.7 million that were agreed to by all parties last month.
New York Attorney General Letitia James praised the resolution of the charity case as a “major victory in our efforts to protect charitable assets and hold accountable those who would abuse charities for personal gain.”
“No one is above the law — not a businessman, not a candidate for office, and not even the President of the United States,” said James.
Judge Saliann Scarpulla said Trump breached his fiduciary duty to the Trump Foundation by allowing his campaign staff to plan a fundraiser for veterans’ charities in the run-up to the 2016 Iowa caucuses.
The event, which passed money through Trump’s non-profit, was designed “to further Mr. Trump’s political campaign,” Scarpulla said.
Trump critics will also hail this as a victory and proof that Trump can be held accountable. Perhaps the Democrats in Congress might want to study this case to learn how to successfully prosecute Trump.
The biggest takeaway, however, might be that not only did Trump lose, but he has finally been forced to admit he did something wrong — something that he hasn’t done for years, if not decades.
During the campaign, Trump bragged that he would win all the suits against him, and file a few lawsuits of his own. Essentially, none of that has happened.
