New York State AG Sues To Dissolve Trump Foundation Charity For Its “Pattern Of Persistent Illegal Conduct”

CNBC reports:

New York Attorney General Barbara Underwood on Thursday sued President Donald Trump and three of his adult children, claiming “a pattern of persistent illegal conduct” for more than a decade at the charity named for Trump.

Underwood claims that the Donald J. Trump Foundation engaged in “extensive unlawful political coordination with the Trump presidential campaign.” She also alleged “repeated and willful self-dealing transactions to benefit Mr. Trump’s personal and business interests.”

The New York Times reports:

The lawsuit, which seeks to dissolve the foundation and bar President Trump and three of his children from serving on nonprofit organizations, was an unprecedented rebuke of a sitting president. The attorney general also sent referral letters to the Internal Revenue Service and the Federal Election Commission for possible further action, adding to Mr. Trump’s extensive legal problems.

The lawsuit, filed in State Supreme Court in Manhattan, culminated a nearly two-year investigation of Mr. Trump’s charity, which became a subject of scrutiny during and after the 2016 presidential campaign.

While such foundations are supposed to be devoted to charitable activities, the complaint asserts that Mr. Trump’s was often used to curry political favor or settle legal claims against his various businesses, and even spent $10,000 on a portrait of Mr. Trump that was hung at one of his golf clubs.

You can read our petition here: https://t.co/1NPGPnSwiB pic.twitter.com/FtRZqPGm1f

— New York Attorney General (@NewYorkStateAG) June 14, 2018