Donald Trump Was Ordered To Re-Pay $2 Million–Think He Will? (Video)

The walls are closing in on Donald Trump.

Not only is the impeachment inquiry moving so swiftly House Democrats anticipate an impeachment vote by Christmas.

Last week Trump was dealt another blow when New York Supreme Court Judge Saliann Scarpulla ordered he pay two million dollars to settle a claim he used his theoretically eleemosynary Donald J. Trump Foundation as a savings account for personal and political interests–including his own run for the White House.

This comes nearly a year after the foundation agreed to dissolve under judicial supervision and relinquish any remaining money to approved charities like the United Way, the United Negro College Fund, and the Holocaust Museum.

The same charities are receiving the additional two million Trump is now required to pay.

In June 2018, then-acting New York Attorney General Barbara Underwood filed a civil lawsuit against Donald Trump, Donald Jr., Eric Trump, and Ivanka Trump, as well as the Trump Foundation, stating:

“[Years] of illegal conduct by the Foundation and its board members includes improper and extensive political activity, repeated and willful self-dealing transactions, and failure to follow basic fiduciary obligations or to implement even elementary corporate formalities required by law.”

Underwood deferred criminal findings to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Federal Elections Commission (FEC). She also requested a state judge dissolve the Trump Foundation and ban the president, his sons, and Ivanka from holding further leadership positions in New York charities.

Trump tweeted:

Among the myriad fraudulent claims Trump made about where the charitable money was going, Judge Scarpulla referred repeatedly to the 2016 presidential campaign.

In January 2016, Trump reveled in the controversy he created over a feud with Fox News that motivated him to skip a planned Iowa debate and alternatively hold a charity for veterans.

That event raised $2.8 million dollars, yet documents filed with the Trump Foundation lawsuit prove no veterans ever received a penny of it.

It went instead toward the Trump campaign.

Then–Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski stated in an email to a then-Trump Organization executive:

“Is there any way we can make some disbursements this week while in Iowa?”

The following week, Trump doled out $500,000 donations from the foundation during a political event, going on to making writing local charities checks part of his campaign-rally routine.

In a statement last week, New York Attorney General Letitia James hailed the judge’s ruling:

“The court’s decision, together with the settlements we negotiated, are a major victory in our efforts to protect charitable assets and hold accountable those who would abuse charities for personal gain. My office will continue to fight for accountability because no one is above the law—not a businessman, not a candidate for office, and not even the President of the United States.”

But the penalty does not conclude with Trump forking over two million dollars.

He must also reimburse the foundation $11,525 for charity auction items–“sports paraphernalia”–like a signed Tim Tebow football helmet, and champagne.

Naturally, Trump is screaming the whole thing is just another political conspiracy to besmirch his impeccable reputation.

He tweeted on Thursday:

The “leaving” Trump refers to pertains to “declaration of domicile” papers he signed last month,  changing his primary residence from 721 Fifth Avenue in Manhattan to his Mar-a-Lago residence in Palm Beach.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio tweeted in response:

Cuomo added on MSNBC:

“The fight will continue, and I think it is a desperate legal move where he’s now going to argue, ‘Well the state should have no right to my taxes because I moved out; I’m a Florida resident.’ That’s besides the point. When you filed your taxes, you were a New York resident. If you defrauded the state, you defrauded it when you are a New York state resident.”

Once a grifter, always a grifter.

Except now the grift is affecting the entire nation.

Before being foisted onto 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue courtesy of the anachronistic Electoral College, Donald Trump was nothing more than a small-time Manhattan hustler.

Sure, he got into his share of financial trouble.

He declared bankruptcy six times and saw scores of business ventures fail.

No American bank would lend to him because of his deadbeat reputation.

Most of the country had no idea about any of this, nor did it really affect most Manhattanites, who are aware this is just how Trump operates.

But by running for president, he overextended.

Now the United States is his to plunder and pillage.

He did warn us, after all, he would run the country like his business.

And we still elected him.

But his honeymoon is quickly ending.

Do we think he’s now going to pay the fine he is legally bound to after he’s built a career on hanging people out to dry?

Image credit: medium.com

Ted Millar is writer and teacher. His work has been featured in myriad literary journals, including Better Than Starbucks, The Broke Bohemian, Straight Forward Poetry, Caesura, Circle Show, Cactus Heart, Third Wednesday, and The Voices Project. He is also a contributor to The Left Place blog on Substack, and Medium.