New York judge fines Trump $2 million over foundation ‘misuse’

A New York state judge ordered US President Donald Trump to pay $2 million for “misusing” the Trump Foundation. The funds will be directed to a group of nonprofits, as the foundation has been defunct since December 2018.

Justice Saliann Scarpulla of the state Supreme Court in Manhattan ruled in favor of the state attorney general Letitia James, a Democrat, who pursued the investigation begun by her predecessor into whether the foundation channeled money into Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign.

The fine is apparently in addition to the settlement that distributes the $1.7 million in funds from the defunct foundation. As part of the settlement, Trump admitted to personally misusing $11,525 in the organization’s funds to buy sports memorabilia and champagne at a charity gala and pledged to repay it.