New York Supreme Court denies request to dismiss Trump Foundation lawsuit
New York's highest court has denied a request to dismiss the state attorney general's lawsuit against the Trump Foundation.
The New York Supreme Court, in documents made public Friday, denied a request from the defendants — President Trump, Ivanka Trump, Eric Trump and the Donald J. Trump Foundation — to dismiss the lawsuit alleging they used the foundation for private and political gain. New York Attorney General Barbara Underwood welcomed Justice Saliann Scarpulla's decision.
"As we detailed in our petition earlier this year, the Trump Foundation functioned as little more than a checkbook to serve Mr. Trump's business and political interests," Underwood said. "There are rules that govern private foundations — and we intend to enforce them, no matter who runs the foundation. We welcome Justice Scarpulla's decision, which allows our suit to move forward."
The lawsuit was filed in June. Underwood hopes to dissolve the foundation and seek $2.8 million in restitution. The suit claims the foundation illegally helped support Mr. Trump's campaign by raising money at a nationally televised fundraiser in January 2016 and then allowed campaign staffers to dictate how the funds were spent.
At the time the suite was filed, a spokesperson for the foundation called it "politics at its very worst," saying the foundation has donated more than $19 million to charitable causes, more than it ever received.
Last month in court, Scarpulla, the judge, appeared skeptical of the Trump legal team's claim of political bias.
"It's not something that's really of interest to me," he said, adding later, "I don't want to get involved with that."
"The allegations are what they are," the judge said at the time.