Trump Foundation to Close Amid Lawsuit Accusing It of 'Willful Self-Dealing'

The attorney general, Barbara Underwood, accused the foundation of “a shocking pattern of illegality” that was “willful and repeated” and included unlawfully coordinating with Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign.

“This amounted to the Trump Foundation functioning as little more than a checkbook to serve Mr. Trump’s business and political interests,” Underwood said.

The broader lawsuit, which seeks millions in restitution and penalties and a bar on the president and his three oldest children from serving on the boards of other New York charities, is proceeding.

Underwood and a lawyer for the foundation signed the stipulation agreeing to the dissolution. The foundation’s remaining assets are to be redistributed under judicial supervision.

Trump had said after the 2016 election that he would dissolve the foundation to avoid any appearance of conflict of interest. But the attorney general’s office said that such a move would require its approval, given the continuing investigation.

Alan S. Futerfas, a lawyer for the foundation, characterized Underwood’s announcement as making a “misleading statement.”

“The foundation has been seeking to dissolve and distribute its remaining assets to worthwhile charitable causes since Donald J. Trump’s victory in the 2016 presidential election,” he said. “Unfortunately, the NYAG sought to prevent dissolution for almost two years, thereby depriving those most in need of nearly $1.7 million.

“The NYAG’s inaccurate statement of this morning is a further attempt to politicize this matter,” he added.

Underwood’s office sued the Trump Foundation in June, charging it with “improper and extensive political activity, repeated and willful self-dealing transactions, and failure to follow basic fiduciary obligations or to implement even elementary corporate formalities required by law.”

The attorney general’s office, following a two-year investigation, accused the Trump Foundation of being used to win political favor and even purchase a $10,000 portrait of Trump that was displayed at one of his golf clubs. Futerfas had said in a statement then that “all of the money raised by the foundation went to charitable causes.”

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.