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Trump Foundation forced to shut down by New York attorney general
TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP/Getty Images

Trump Foundation forced to shut down by New York attorney general

The charity was sued by the state in June, amid accusations that the Trump family used it as a 'personal checkbook'

President Donald Trump's private charity has agreed to dissolve itself under government supervision as part of an agreement with the state of New York.

Attorney General Barbara Underwood sued the Trump Foundation in June, seeking millions in restitution and penalties, including prohibiting President Trump and his three oldest children from serving on any other charity boards in the state. Underwood accused Trump of using his nonprofit as a personal checking account; the lawsuit is ongoing.

What are the details?

ABC News reported that the foundation had already agreed to shut down, but the state insisted that the attorney general's office and the court have oversight of the how the remaining funds were disbursed.

In a statement released following the agreement on Tuesday, Underwood said:

Our petition detailed 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. This amounted to the Trump Foundation functioning as little more than a checkbook to serve Mr. Trump's business and political interests.

Today's stipulation accomplishes a key piece of the relief sought in our lawsuit earlier this year. Under the terms, the Trump Foundation can only dissolve under judicial supervision — and it can only distribute its remaining charitable assets to reputable organizations approved by my office.

This is an important victory for the rule of law, making clear that there is one set of rules for everyone. We'll continue to move our suit forward to ensure that the Trump Foundation and its directors are held to account for their clear and repeated violations of state and federal law.

Anything else?

Defendants named in the lawsuit are Donald Trump, Donald Trump Jr., Ivanka Trump, Eric Trump, and the Donald J. Trump Foundation itself.

"The foundation and its directors and officers violated multiple" laws, according to the complaint, "including provisions that prohibit foundations from making false statements in filings with the attorney general, engaging in self-dealing, wasting charitable assets, or violating the Internal Revenue Code by, among other things, making expenditures to influence the outcome of an election."

The court petition accused President Trump of willfully and knowingly using "the foundation to the benefit of his [2016 presidential] campaign" through coordinated fundraising for veterans' groups.

The suit also alleges that the foundation made payments to other charitable organizations for the purpose of settling lawsuits against Trump's Mar-A-Logo resort and The Trump National Golf Club.

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