New York Judge Orders Trump Foundation Dissolved, Assets Distributed to Charities

New York State Supreme Court Justice Saliann Scarpulla issued an order formally dissolving the Donald J. Trump Foundation and directing the distribution of its remaining $1.78 million in assets to eight legitimate charities under court and Attorney General supervision. The dissolution order came after the Foundation stipulated to illegal coordination with Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign and acknowledged systematic violations of laws governing charitable organizations. Justice Scarpulla’s order required detailed accounting of all foundation transactions and maintained the court’s jurisdiction over claims seeking $2.8 million in restitution and penalties against Trump personally and his adult children who served as foundation board members.

Background

The dissolution order formalized the settlement agreement reached between the Foundation and Attorney General Barbara Underwood following her June 2018 lawsuit alleging “persistent illegal conduct.” The order incorporated the Foundation’s admissions that it had illegally coordinated with Trump’s presidential campaign, engaged in self-dealing transactions benefiting Trump personally, and operated for years without proper New York State registration or oversight.

Justice Scarpulla’s order was unusually detailed in its oversight provisions. It required the Foundation to provide complete financial records documenting all transactions, expenditures, and asset distributions. The court designated eight charities to receive the Foundation’s assets: Army Emergency Relief, Children’s Aid Society, City Meals on Wheels, Give an Hour, Martha’s Table, United Negro College Fund, United Way of the National Capital Area, and the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum. The Attorney General retained authority to ensure proper distribution and verify that funds actually reached the intended charities rather than being diverted to Trump-affiliated entities.

Critically, the dissolution did not resolve the broader lawsuit. AG Underwood continued pursuing claims against Trump individually for $2.8 million in restitution (representing foundation funds improperly used for Trump’s benefit), as well as seeking to bar Trump from serving on boards of any New York charitable organizations for 10 years and similar one-year bans for his children. The court maintained jurisdiction over these claims, ensuring accountability would extend beyond merely shutting down the fraudulent charity.

Significance

Justice Scarpulla’s dissolution order marked the official end of the Trump Foundation after 30 years of operation, with its final years characterized by systematic fraud. The court-supervised dissolution ensured that remaining charitable assets would finally serve actual charitable purposes rather than Trump’s business interests, campaign activities, or personal vanity.

The order represented a rare instance of judicial accountability for Trump while he served as President. Unlike congressional oversight or criminal investigations that Trump could obstruct or dismiss, the civil fraud case proceeded through the New York courts with Trump unable to prevent judicial findings of Foundation misconduct. The stipulated facts in the dissolution order - including illegal campaign coordination and self-dealing - became permanent court record that Trump could not dispute or dismiss as “fake news.”

Most significantly, the dissolution established legal precedent that even a sitting President’s charitable organization could be shut down for fraud. The detailed oversight provisions demonstrated judicial skepticism of Trump’s integrity, with the court essentially treating the Foundation as so corrupt that extraordinary measures were needed to ensure even its final acts would be legitimate. The continued pursuit of personal penalties against Trump signaled that the Foundation’s dissolution was only the beginning of accountability, not the end.