Trump charity didn’t donate in ‘17 amid plans to close

NEW YORK >> President Donald Trump’s charitable foundation made no donations last year, a sharp break from the 2016 election year when it gave away millions of dollars and drew a lawsuit alleging the charity was acting as a quasi-political group.

The Donald J. Trump Foundation took in no new money from outside groups last year and donated nothing, according to a 2017 tax return posted online Monday. Trump had promised before taking office to dissolve the foundation to avoid conflicts of interest with his duties as president.

The foundation gave away $3.1 million in 2016, more than it did in the prior three years combined. Much of the money donated that election year went to veterans’ groups.

Trump and other directors of his foundation are being sued by New York Attorney General Barbara Underwood for allegedly using its money to settle business disputes, help with his presidential campaign and pay for personal items. The suit argues that the foundation should be dissolved only under court supervision.

The suit seeks $2.8 million in restitution plus penalties, the foundation’s disbandment and a 10-year ban on Trump running any charities.

Trump’s lawyer has said the suit is politically motivated and should be dismissed. But a New York judge ruled Friday that it should go forward because there is no basis for finding “animus and bias were the sole motivating factors” for the litigation.

In 2016, the foundation took in more than $2 million from several groups and individuals, including $1 million from Phil Ruffin, Trump’s business partner in a Las Vegas tower bearing the president’s name.

By contrast, the foundation last year raised money from only one source, the Trump Corporation, according to tax returns posted Monday by the nonprofit monitoring website GuideStar. The president’s company donated $502,400.