Trump to shut charitable foundation

President-elect's move aims to avoid appearance of potential conflict of interests

Donald Trump said 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 move seeks to address just one aspect of his sprawling international business dealings that have led to assessments he will take office on January 20 with more potential conflicts of interest than any US president in history.

His foundation has been investigated by New York's attorney general since telling the Internal Revenue Service that it violated rules preventing leaders of nonprofit organisations from using a charity's money to benefit themselves or other "disqualified" people.

 

That admission followed a Washington Post report that foundation money was used to pay for legal settlements for Trump's businesses, including a dispute over an oversized flagpole at his Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach, Florida, where he is spending the holidays, and to purchase sports memorabilia and other items.

"The Foundation has done enormous good works over the years in contributing millions of dollars to countless worthy groups, including supporting veterans, law enforcement officers and children," Trump said in his statement.

Much of the focus on the foundation has been on its practice of collecting and donating money from other people, even as Trump's own contributions flagged. The foundation reported assets of about $1.27 million at the end of 2014, according to an IRS filing. 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 January 20.

However, the foundation "cannot legally dissolve until investigation complete," Amy Spitalnick, a spokeswoman for New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, said on Twitter.

Trump's statement came hours after the New York Times reported that the president-elect and members of his family were hurrying to resolve potential conflicts as inauguration day looms.

Son Eric Trump this week said he would stop directly soliciting contributions for his own charitable foundation to avoid the risk of donors trying to use him to gain access to his father. The president-elect bemoaned the move on Twitter as "a ridiculous shame."

Some good-government groups say the end of the Trump Foundation won't end their concerns.

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Bloomberg