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Donald Trump's charity said it 'plans to dissolve' despite being under investigation

President Donald Trump's charitable foundation announced its intent to dissolve, although it is still under investigation: Martin H. Simon - Pool/Getty Images
President Donald Trump's charitable foundation announced its intent to dissolve, although it is still under investigation: Martin H. Simon - Pool/Getty Images

US President Donald Trump’s charitable foundation is planning to shut its doors, according to public Internal Revenue Service (IRS) documents.

A spokesperson for the foundation told ABC News that "advisers are working with the charities division to wind up the affairs of the foundation."

In December 2016, Mr Trump announced he would close his namesake charity "to avoid even the appearance of any conflict with my role as president."

Nearly a year later, he has kept that promise and for good reason - the foundation has come under scrutiny for more than one alleged misstep.

The move comes after repeated calls by Mr Trump to investigate Hillary Clinton and former President Bill Clinton's charitable foundation as well for allegedly taking donations from individuals involved in the Russian nuclear agency Rosatom in exchange for then-Secretary of State Clinton approving the sale of a company to them that owned 20 per cent of American uranium supplies.

The allegations have been proven false by Politifact and no formal investigation has been launched by the US Department of Justice.

New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman opened an investigation into the organisation in 2016 for a donation that was made to a fundraising group in support of Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi.

The Trump Foundation was ordered to stop fundraising until allegations are looked into of Ms Bondi accepting the donation in exchange for not investigating the now-defunct Trump University allegedly defrauding students.

The statement to ABC News said it "continues to cooperate with the New York attorney general's charities division."

Spokesperson for Mr Schneiderman Amy Spitalnick told The Independent that the investigation “remains ongoing” and contended that the organisation “cannot legally dissolve until that investigation is complete.”

The foundation again got into hot water when it admitted to donating to a "disqualified person," according to a 2015 tax form obtained by ABC News.

That is defined as "any person who was in a position to exercise substantial influence over the affairs of the applicable tax-exempt organization” like a manager or significant contributor, according to the IRS.

Called “self-dealing,” it can come with penalties and excise taxes.

It is unclear who exactly was given the donation, why, and whether an IRS investigation was triggered as a result.

It also remains unclear whether the foundation thought the investigation had concluded or what specific wording they used in communications with the IRS about dissolving.

A request for comment from the foundation has not been answered as yet. The link to the charity has been taken down from the Trump Organisation’s main website and the listed telephone number directs to the main Trump offices in New York.