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Trump Foundation gets more time to comply with NY charity laws

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Monday was supposed to be the deadline for Donald Trump’s charitable foundation – which had been soliciting donations without the official registration required by New York state – to comply with state law.

But, early Monday afternoon, a spokesman for the New York attorney general said that Trump’s foundation had asked for, and been granted, extra time.

“They’ve requested more time, and we’ve agreed to provide the Trump Foundation with more time,” said Eric Soufer, a spokesman for Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, D. Soufer declined to say how much longer the attorney general’s office had agreed to wait.

Earlier this month, The Washington Post reported that the Donald J. Trump Foundation lacked the official registration required to solicit donations – although it had survived for years on gifts from other donors. By failing to register, the Trump Foundation avoided a requirement to submit to annual independent audits. Those might have detected some of the apparent violations of charity law that have come to light this year, including instances where Trump used the charity’s money to buy paintings of himself and to help settle lawsuits involving his for-profit businesses.

The day after The Post’s story appeared, Schneiderman’s office ordered the Trump Foundation to cease its fundraising immediately. The attorney general’s office gave Trump’s charity until Monday to file the correct registration paperwork and to obtain audits from past years where it had solicited gifts without permission.

Soufer, the attorney general’s spokesman, said that the Trump Foundation had assured them that it was complying with the order to stop raising money.

“They are complying with the order and confirm that they have stopped soliciting donations in New York,” Soufer said.

Trump’s presidential campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment, sent on Monday afternoon.

The Washington Post