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Trump and the presidential committee on the inauguration of former President Donald Trump on Tuesday agreed to pay the county $ 750,000 to settle a lawsuit filed by the city, alleging that the organizations misused non-profit funds in favor of the former president. and his family.
The city’s Attorney General’s Office filed a lawsuit in 2020 in the District Court of the District of Columbia, claiming that the founding committee, a non-profit corporation, is coordinating with the Trump family to overpay for a venue at the Trump International Hotel in downtown Columbia. Washington even pays for space in the days when it did not hold events. County attorneys also accused Trump’s organization of misappropriating nonprofit funds to organize a private party on January 20, 2017 for Trump’s children – Ivanka, Donald Jr. and Eric – which cost $ 300,000. The city also claims that the Trump Organization, the inaugural committee and the Trump International Hotel misused $ 1.1 million.
Columbia Attorney General Carl A. Racine said the agreement allows the city to “return” the money that Trump’s inaugural commission misused.
“After he was elected, one of the first actions taken by Donald Trump was the illegal use of his own position to enrich his family,” Racine said in a statement. “We have refused to allow this corruption to remain. No one is above the law – not even the president. Non-profit funds cannot be used to fill people’s pockets, no matter how powerful they are. Now all future presidential inaugural committees have been warned that they will not be spared such shocking actions. “
Non-profit organizations such as the Trump Committee cannot use funds to give private benefits to their leaders. Trump was not officially a member of the introductory commission, but Racine said that for the purposes of the trial, Trump and his family should still be treated as his leaders because they exercised control outside the books.
Lee Blalak, an adviser to the commission, said in a statement that the prosecutor general’s claims were “unfounded” and said the group had arranged to avoid court costs that would be covered by its insurance company but could exceed what was agreed. settlement amount. Blalak added that if the case had gone to trial, the organization would have prevailed based on the evidence.
Racine’s office has identified two youth-oriented non-profit organizations, the Mikva Challenge DC and the DC Action, each of which will receive $ 375,000 through the agreement.
Kimberly Perry, executive director of DC Action, said the 30-year-old children’s advocacy organization plans to use the funds to continue various DC youth seminars on education, health and economic security.
“Our ultimate goal is for every child and young person to have a chance to grow up safe, resilient, powerful and heard and to grow as productive adults,” Perry said. “We appreciate Attorney General Racine for choosing us from DC Action to be the recipients of these funds. We will use them well. “
In the city’s case, lawyers claim that the Trump Organization and the inaugural commission paid “significantly inflated prices” to the hotel even after senior commission officials and members of the Trump family were warned that the allegations were unreasonable. The payments of the commission, the lawyers claim in the documents, “Flows directly to the Trump family”, thus ignoring the statute of the committee, which prohibits the use of his funds for private enrichment.
In court documents, the Trump Organization and the founding committee claim that the Trump Hotel charges a “market price” for its premises, in line with its status as a luxury hotel near the White House.
Trump’s lawyers could not be reached immediately to comment on the agreement.
City attorneys also allege that Trump’s inauguration committee misused non-profit funds by paying a $ 50,000 debt owed for rooms at the Loews Madison Hotel to Trump’s family and friends during the inaugural week. in office. Trump’s organization booked the rooms, lawyers say, after failing to pay the bill.
Trump’s lawyers had tried unsuccessfully to close the case.
A judge in the District of Columbia in 2021 rejected part of the district’s case, which alleges that Trump’s inaugural commission in 2017 “squandered” $ 1 million at the president’s hotel after finding that the city cannot prove that the misuse of funds was intentional. But the judge also ruled that the remainder of the case, accusing the nonprofit of misappropriated assets, could remain.
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