JIM WATSON/AFP/Getty Images(NEW YORK) — President-elect Donald Trump “intends to dissolve” the Donald J. Trump Foundation, according to a statement on Saturday.
“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,” he said in the statement. “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 decision comes after New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman opened an inquiry into the charitable foundation in September concerning, among other things, Trump buying a portrait of himself and a donation to a group supporting Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, a source in the office said.
The New York Attorney General’s office’s spokesperson Amy Spitalnick said in a statement to ABC News on Saturday, “The Trump Foundation is still under investigation by this office and cannot legally dissolve until that investigation is complete.”
In October, the attorney general’s office found that Trump’s charity allegedly lacked proper certification and ordered in a cease-and-desist letter to stop fundraising in the state of New York.
“While we remain very concerned about the political motives behind AG Schneiderman’s investigation, the Trump Foundation nevertheless intends to cooperate fully with the investigation,” a statement from the Trump campaign said at the time.
Copyright © 2016, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
