Judge orders Trump to pay 2million US dollars for misusing namesake charity

A New York state judge on Thursday (Nov 7) ordered US President Donald Trump to pay US$2 million for misusing his namesake charitable foundation, resulting in funds being used to advance his 2016 presidential campaign.

Justice Saliann Scarpulla, of the state Supreme Court in Manhattan, directed the payment to eight non-profits, in connection with a lawsuit by the state's attorney general against the president and three of his adult children over the now-dissolved Donald J Trump Foundation.

President Trump defended the charity in a statement on Twitter, saying the foundation was an "incredibly effective philanthropy" that had made "some small technical violations".

A spokesman for the Trump Foundation said it was pleased the court rejected the attorney general's request for punitive damages.

The attorney-general, Letitia James, said her office had also reached agreements with the foundation and its directors to end the June 2018 lawsuit, which was filed by her predecessor, Barbara Underwood.

In refusing to award punitive damages, Scarpulla cited Trump's agreement to take steps to avoid a recurrence.

The US$2 million is expected to go to Army Emergency Relief, the Children's Aid Society, City Meals-on-Wheels, Give an Hour, Martha's Table, the United Negro College Fund, the United Way of the National Capital Area and the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.