President Trump on Wednesday complained that he was the victim of a “total double standard” of justice after a lawsuit in New York state against the Donald J. Trump Foundation led to the charity’s closure.
In a series of tweets, Trump asserted that his charity “has done great work and given away lots of money, both mine and others, to great charities over the years — with me taking NO fees, rent, salaries etc.”
He argued that he was targeted by state Democrats, including Gov. Andrew Cuomo and former Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, who resigned in May amid allegations of sexual misconduct and abuse. His successor, Barbara Underwood, also a Democrat, brought a lawsuit against the charity a month later.
{mosads}Trump repeated his inaccurate claim that Schneiderman led former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign efforts in New York in 2016. The then-attorney general backed Clinton, but did not work for her campaign.
“In any event, it goes on and on & the new AG, who is now being replaced by yet another AG (who openly campaigned on a GET TRUMP agenda), does little else but rant, rave & politic against me,” Trump tweeted, referencing Attorney General-elect Letitia James. “Will never be treated fairly by these people — a total double standard of ‘justice.'”
The tweets marked the president’s first comments on his charity since Underwood announced Tuesday that the Trump Foundation had agreed to shut down following a lawsuit over its alleged mishandling of funds.
Trump had previously decried the lawsuit as a partisan attack and vowed not to settle the case.
Underwood said the charity displayed a “shocking pattern of illegality” and that the president used the organization’s money for personal and political purposes.
“Mr. Trump used charitable assets to pay off the legal obligations of entities he controlled, to promote Trump hotels, to purchase personal items, and to support his presidential election campaign.”
The attorney general said she will continue to pursue the lawsuit against the Trump Foundation, which seeks $2.8 million in restitution plus penalties, as well as an order barring Trump and his three oldest children — Donald Trump Jr., Ivanka Trump and Eric Trump — from serving on the boards of other New York charities.
The Washington Post, which first reported during the 2016 presidential campaign on Trump’s misleading portrayals of his foundation’s efforts, said Tuesday that the organization will be required to sell its remaining assets and donate the proceeds as part of its dissolution agreement.
The remaining assets reportedly include a Denver Broncos football helmet signed by former quarterback Tim Tebow, which Trump bought with $12,000 in foundation money, as well as two large portraits of the president that were purchased using a combined $30,000 in foundation funds.
The ongoing Trump Foundation lawsuit is one of many legal headaches facing the president.
Trump’s campaign is under scrutiny from special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. Five former Trump associates have been implicated in the investigation thus far, along with more than 20 Russians.
Trump has repeatedly blasted the investigation as a “witch hunt” and insisted he did not collude with Russia.
In addition, federal prosecutors in Manhattan are reportedly looking into whether the president’s inauguration committee misused funds and are said to be investigating whether officials in the Trump Organization violated campaign finance laws.