Trump fined $2 million for misusing charity funds

This appeared in The Millennial Source

On Thursday, November 7, a New York Supreme Court judge ordered President Trump to pay $2 million in damages to various charities for using funds from his own charitable foundation to benefit his 2016 presidential campaign. The ruling follows acknowledgment from Trump that he had misused charity funds.

Allegations against the Trump foundation

The fine relates to a lawsuit filed against Trump by the New York Attorney General last year. In it, the president and his family stand accused of using the Donald J. Trump Foundation’s funds for business and presidential campaign purposes.

The lawsuit argued that Trump broke campaign finance laws by using the tax-exempt status of the Donald J Trump Foundation “as little more than a checkbook to serve Mr. Trump’s business and political interests.”

There was also “a shocking pattern of illegality involving the Trump Foundation — including unlawful coordination with the Trump presidential campaign, repeated and willful self-dealing, and much more,” according to the lawsuit.

The New York Times reports that the settlement was finalized in October and included several admissions from Trump. A statement released…