Trump’s golf course reimbursed his charity after using funds to settle lawsuit

The Trump Foundation was paid more than $158,000 by The Trump National Golf Club in Westchester County, N.Y., last year as a reimbursement for a lawsuit settlement against the club, a new tax filing reveals. 

The Washington Post reported Tuesday that the New York golf club settled a lawsuit with Martin Greenberg in 2010 over the payout for a golf tournament held at the club. The Trump Foundation sent a $158,000 donation to the Martin Greenberg Foundation the day the case settled, according to the newspaper.

In the 2016 tax filing, the Trump Foundation says that the money was raised largely by auctioning off a membership position in the club, and that the money was wired through the foundation.

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The Trump Foundation is President Trump’s private charity foundation based in New York, and is currently under investigation by New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman (D) into how it collects and disburses funds. Trump has said he will shutter the foundation when Schneiderman’s investigation is completed.

“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 December. “However, 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 latest filing obtained by The Washington Post “definitely reflects an effort to get the house in order, so to speak, before shutting down,” former IRS official Marcus Owens told the newspaper.

The move in 2010 raises questions as to whether the charity was involved in “self-dealing,” which is the process of using charitable funds to benefit oneself or one’s personal business.

The Trump Organization told the newspaper in a statement that it is cooperating fully with Schneiderman’s investigation.