Donald Trump Won't Be Able To Use Charity Money To Settle Lawsuit For University Scandal

In months leading up to the 2016 U.S. election, president-elect Donald Trump was slammed by a fraud case for his for-profit university. Recently, he has paid a settlement for the case but it allegedly did not come from his foundation or charity.

Earlier this month, Donald Trump and his lawyers have requested for the postponement of the hearing of his fraud case. Apparently, he is citing the excuse of being a "political novice" and the challenges he will face during the transition to the White House.

He was faced with two different federal lawsuits for Trump University. The for-profit learning enterprise is accused of deceiving students who were eager to learn his real estate secrets.

Back in summer, Donald Trump was able to successfully request that the trial and his testimony be postponed until the election has finished. Now, as he emerged victorious, his lawyers argued that he is too busy to prepare for the trial.

The New York Times reported that Trump's representatives have agreed that they will not be using money from the president-elect's charitable foundation to pay the $25 million settlement for the fraud case. Last Friday, the lawyers sent a letter to Eric T. Schneiderman, the New York State attorney general, to confirm that no funds for the settlement would come from "any charitable foundation or other charitable entity."

This became an issue because Donald Trump has used money from his charitable foundation, the Donald J. Trump Foundation, to pay for lawsuit settlements for his business and personal activities. Just last month, over a quarter of a million dollars from his charity has been used to resolve legal disputes.

Reuters added that Donald Trump has finally agreed to paying the $25 million settlement. It will cover three lawsuits: two class action suits in California as well as a case in New York brought by Schneiderman.

According to Trump's attorney, Daniel Petrocelli, the settlement is a testament to the president-elect's efforts to set aside his personal agenda in order to work on issues that the country is facing. "President-elect Trump has laser focus on moving forward. It's time to move on," Petrocelli said.