November 24, 2018
By Shannon Van Sant
A New York judge (click here) has ruled that a lawsuit brought by the state's attorney general against President Trump and the Trump Foundation can proceed, a decision that could expose the president and his charity to millions in potential penalties.
The lawsuit was filed in June by Attorney General Barbara Underwood and involves allegations that Trump improperly used the foundation to settle business disputes and to support his 2016 campaign for the presidency. The suit also names three of the president's children, Donald Trump Jr., Ivanka Trump and Eric Trump.
In her decision on Friday, Justice Saliann Scarpulla dismissed efforts by the president's lawyers to have the case dismissed, ruling that a sitting president can face a civil lawsuit in state court for actions that preceded his time in office. Scarpulla is the second judge this year to rule that as president, Trump is not immune to civil court cases.
"I find I have jurisdiction over Mr. Trump," Scarpulla wrote in her 27-page ruling, in which she cited the Supreme Court's 1997 ruling on Paula Jones' sexual harassment lawsuit against Bill Clinton....
