Trump vows to close charity

Washington –– Donald Trump said Saturday that he intends to dissolve his charitable foundation to resolve concerns about possible ethics conflicts.

“To avoid even the appearance of any conflict with my role as president, I have decided to continue to pursue my strong interest in philanthropy in other ways,” the president-elect said in a statement on Saturday.

Trump’s foundation has been investigated by the New York state attorney general since telling the Internal Revenue Service that it violated rules preventing leaders of nonprofit organizations from using a charity’s money to benefit themselves or other “disqualified” people. The admission came after The Washington Post reported that Trump used foundation money to pay for legal settlements, including a dispute over an oversize flagpole at his Mara-Lago Club in Palm Beach, Fla.

Much of the focus on the foundation has been on its practice of collecting and donating money from other people.

Amy Spitalnick, a spokeswoman for New York state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, said on Twitter that the foundation “cannot legally dissolve until investigation is complete.”

Trump has directed his counsel to take the necessary steps to accomplish the dissolution, his transition team said in the statement. The statement didn’t specify if that will occur before Trump is inaugurated on Jan. 20.

Some good-government groups say Trump’s move won’t end their concerns.

“The announcement that the foundation will be shut down is a necessary first step for the incoming administration to avoid massive ethics problems,” Noah Bookbinder, executive director of the Washington based-Center for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, said in an email.

“The foundation’s past instances of wrongdoing must be fully investigated and President-elect Trump must sell his businesses and take comprehensive steps to prevent conflicts of interest for him and his administration,” Bookbinder said.