The Wall Street Journal - 08.11.2019

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. ** Friday, November 8, 2019 |A

President Trump admitted
to misusing nonprofit funds
and was ordered to personally
pay $2 million to an array of
charities as part of a settle-
ment to a lawsuit that accused
his now-defunct foundation of
illegally helping his 2016 cam-
paign for the White House.
The settlement made public
Thursday resolved a lawsuit
filed last year by the New York
attorney general’s office
against Mr. Trump, three of his
children and the Donald J.
Trump Foundation.
Lawyers for the parties re-
solved the bulk of the lawsuit
on their own, State Supreme
Court Justice Saliann Scarpulla
wrote, but they agreed that the
judge should decide what Mr.
Trump himself should pay.
Justice Scarpulla ordered

Mr. Trump to pay $2 million to
agreed-upon charities. In her
ruling, she concluded that Mr.
Trump breached his fiduciary
duty to the foundation, includ-
ing by allowing his campaign
to direct a fundraiser during
the 2016 presidential primary.
In the 2018 lawsuit, the
New York attorney general ac-
cused the foundation of violat-
ing laws that regulate chari-
ties.
The attorney general called
the foundation “little more
than an empty shell” and said
Mr. Trump had used it to pay
legal settlements and promote
his businesses.
On Thursday, Mr. Trump
characterized the case as polit-
ically motivated harassment. “I
am the only person I know,
perhaps the only person in his-
tory, who can give major
money to charity ($19M),
charge no expense, and be at-
tacked by the political hacks in
New York State,” he said in a
statement posted on Twitter.
Justice Scarpulla found that
an Iowa fundraiser Mr. Trump
held for his foundation during
the 2016 race violated rules
governing charities. How to
penalize Mr. Trump for those
violations appeared to be a
sticking point to a settlement.
The attorney general had
asked the judge to award dam-
ages for the entire $2.8 million
that had been donated to the
foundation at the fundraiser,
Justice Scarpulla wrote. Mr.
Trump’s lawyers disagreed,
saying those funds were dis-
bursed to charities supporting
veterans.
Justice Scarpulla said she
decided Mr. Trump should pay
$2 million because he allowed
his campaign staff to direct
distribution of the funds and
used the event to further his
political campaign.
In addition to the $2 mil-
lion, the attorney general and
Mr. Trump’s attorneys agreed
that the foundation would dis-
tribute its remaining $1.8 mil-
lion in assets to charities.
In all, $3.8 million will be
distributed equally to eight
charities, the attorney gen-
eral’s office said: Army Emer-
gency Relief, the Children’s Aid
Society, Citymeals on Wheels,
Give an Hour, Martha’s Table,
United Negro College Fund,
United Way of the National
Capital Area and the U.S. Holo-
caust Memorial Museum.
Mr. Trump also agreed to
restrictions on future charita-
ble service, the attorney gen-
eral’s office said.
The parties also agreed that
Donald Trump Jr., Ivanka
Trump and Eric Trump would
participate in mandatory train-
ing about charities, the office
said.
Finally, the parties agreed
upon the list of charities,
which have no connection with
Mr. Trump or his family.
New York state Attorney
General Letitia James, a Demo-
crat, called the ruling and set-
tlement a victory in her of-
fice’s efforts to protect
charities.
A spokesperson for the
Trump Foundation said it was
pleased to make additional
contributions to charity.

BYCORINNERAMEY

Trump

Must Pay

Charities

$2 Million

The president, in

settling a suit, also

admits misusing

nonprofit funds.

U.S. NEWS

it faces sluggish population

growth and a contracting labor

force.

“States like Missouri have

sort of been seen as being left

behind,” said Elijah Haahr, the

state’s Republican speaker of

the house. “This is our chance

to catch up on that front.”

The price tag for the test

track could be between $

million and $500 million, the

panel’s report found. The

panel also found that a line

connecting Kansas City to St.

Louis that would traverse 250

miles in 30 minutes could cost

more than $10 billion. Virgin

Hyperloop One said in its re-

quest for proposals that if the

certification track is success-

ful, it might then build the full

line connecting the two cities.

The state hopes to fund the

effort through a public-private

partnership, including an in-

vestment from Virgin Hyper-

loop, to avoid raising taxes but

hasn’t nailed down financing

yet. Bids are due in February.

Mr. Haahr’s panel believes

the economic impact of a Hy-

perloop system in Missouri

could reach more than $3.

billion and bring more than

17,000 new jobs.

Missouri’s labor force con-

tracted 0.3% last year, after de-

clining 0.6% in 2017. Its popu-

lation of six million people has

grown about 2% since 2010.

“Where businesses are lo-

cating has to do primarily with

workforce and their access to

workforce,” said Joe Reagan, a

member of Mr. Haahr’s panel

and former CEO of the St.

Louis Regional Chamber. The

Hyperloop would allow “new

companies outside the region

to be able to locate more con-

fidently in either Kansas City

or St. Louis.”

Mr. Kelly said 22 states

have expressed interest in bid-

ding for the project.

William Murdock, executive

director of the Mid-Ohio Re-

gional Planning Commission,

said the state plans to bid.

Virgin Hyperloop One hasn’t

said which state it might pick.

But Mr. Walder, its CEO, said

he thinks the first Hyperloop

won’t be in a major urban area

like New York or Los Angeles.

The company needs large, flat

and sparsely developed tracts

of land to build the tubes that

would hold the pods. Urban

density can present land-rights

challenges and would require

digging below ground, which is

more expensive.

The idea for Hyperloop was

first floated byTeslaInc. CEO

Elon Musk in a 2013 paper. At

the time, Mr. Musk predicted

he could build a prototype in

three to four years. Critics

raised concerns about costs.

Virgin Hyperloop One’s certifi-

cation track would be the first

time a test track would be

built for the purpose of seek-

ing governmental approval.

“They’ve moved beyond

napkin stage, so that’s promis-

ing,” said Joe Milazzo, execu-

tive director of North Caro-

lina’s Regional Transportation

Alliance, a business group that

focuses on transportation in

the Raleigh-Durham region. He

said North Carolina hasn’t de-

cided whether to submit a bid.

Missouri is moving quickly

to try to win the first Hyper-

loop certification track, bet-

ting the nearly half-billion-dol-

lar project will help turn the

state into a technology power-

house that can attract top tal-

ent from across the country.

Los Angeles-basedVirgin

Hyperloop Onesent out a re-

quest for proposals Monday

asking states to bid for a

chance to host a 6-mile certifi-

cation track that would test

for commercial use the theo-

retical technology aiming to

move people and cargo in near

friction-free pods that can

travel close to 700 miles an

hour.

Missouri had its hand up

long before the document

came out. Virgin Hyperloop

One’s Chief Executive Jay

Walder said that when he met

Missouri’s Republican Gov.

Mike Parson in April, the first

thing the governor said was,

“How can we bring Hyperloop

to Missouri?”

While other states such as

Texas, North Carolina and

Ohio have also been studying

the opportunity, Missouri has

been ahead in publicly staking

out its position on Hyperloop,

according to Ryan Kelly, a Vir-

gin Hyperloop One spokesman.

Missouri released the first

feasibility study in the U.S. of

Hyperloop in October last year.

The Missouri speaker of the

house set up a blue-ribbon

panel to study Hyperloop that

released a report last week

outlining how the state could

win the certification track and

ultimately become the center

of a national Hyperloop sys-

tem.

Behind Missouri’s push is a

fear that its major cities could

be left behind economically as

BYSHAYNDIRAICE

Missouri Dreams of Faster Travel

State pushes hard

to host nation’s first

certification track for

futuristic Hyperloop

FROM TOP: HYPERLOOP ONE; ALI HAIDER/EPA/SHUTTERSTOCK

Planes,Trainsand

Hyperloops

Missourihopestobuilda

HyperloopbetweenSt.Louis

andKansasCity,Mo.,that

wouldreducethe250-mile

tripto30minutes.

TraveltimebetweenSt.Louis

andKansasCity,Mo.

Source: Virgin Hyperloop One

hours  4 6

Proposed

Hyperloop

Plane

Car

Train

Strong, dry winds play a

key role in wildfires blazing

out of control every fall in the

state, including last week’s

77,758-acre Kincade Fire,

which destroyed 374 homes

and other structures in

Sonoma County, north of San

Francisco, and the 745-acre

Getty Fire, which destroyed 10

homes in western Los Angeles.

Another critical factor is

the lack of rain, which has left

vegetation dry and at higher

risk of burning. There has

been very little rain across the

state this year, and the wet

season that normally begins in

Northern California in late Oc-

tober has yet to start. That

means hillsides and forests are

packed with fuel that could

burn quickly.

“We still have a high proba-

bility of seeing fires, but the

missing piece is the wind,”

said Matt Mehle, a fire-inci-

dent meteorologist with the

National Weather Service of-

fice in Monterey, Calif. For

now, he said, “instead of hav-

ing a fire that spreads rapidly,

maybe we’ll get a small one

that gets put out.”

Vegetation in Northern Cal-

ifornia is the driest on record,

because it hasn’t rained essen-

tially since the spring, said

Jonathan Pangburn, a fire-be-

havior analyst with the Cali-

fornia Department of Forestry

and Fire Protection, or Cal

Fire.

None of the state’s major

utilities, includingPG&ECorp.

and Southern California Edi-

son Co., are planning the types

of blackouts that affected

more than two million people

and businesses last month in

effort to prevent wildfires

caused by wind-damaged

power lines.

Southern California faces

an even higher risk going for-

ward, because it is both criti-

cally dry and faces the threat

of renewed winds, fire officials

say.

Elevated fire-weather con-

ditions are forecast in the

mountains and valleys of the

Los Angeles area as winds

briefly pick up Thursday

through Saturday.

Just one week after multi-

ple dangerous wildfires were

burning on both ends of Cali-

fornia, the state is basking un-

der clear, nearly smoke-free

skies again. But forecasters

say it may be only a brief re-

prieve from potentially deadly

blazes, particularly in the

southern half of the state.

The current lull is due

largely to the end of the peak

season for Diablo winds in

Northern California that gust

every October. In the south,

this week has brought a break

from strong Santa Ana winds,

but they could return as soon

as next week and continue

into next month or even Janu-

ary, experts said.

BYJIMCARLTON

California Enjoys a Respite

From Fires, but Danger Looms

The Kincade Fire in Sonoma County burned over 77,000 acres.

PAUL KITAGAKI JR./ZUMA PRESS

lowing people to camp on a 5-

acre plot of state-owned land

in southeastern Austin. The

property will have portable

restrooms, hand-washing sta-

tions and an agreement from

local charities to service meals

there, said John Wittman, a

spokesman for the Republican.

“This is the governor fol-

lowing through on his commit-

ment,” Mr. Wittman said. “He

said he would clean up down-

town.”

Austin Mayor Steve Adler

said he appreciated any assis-

tance in responding to home-

lessness in Austin but said the

city’s efforts will remain on

finding permanent housing for

people. City staff members

over the summer recom-

mended against putting re-

sources toward designated

camps, saying they often end

up becoming permanent and

taking effort away from per-

manent solutions.

“Ultimately, we don’t want

people camping anywhere,”

Mr. Adler said.

Before Monday’s clearing

out of the state-controlled un-

derpasses, Mr. Abbott had for

months threatened state inter-

vention and encouraged con-

stituents to tweet videos of

homeless people behaving

badly in Austin, signaling his

displeasure with the city’s pol-

icies. Austin council members

and advocates for the home-

less criticized him for pushing

people with nowhere else to

go into hiding. The plan an-

nounced Thursday provides a

new option, Mr. Wittman said,

though he emphasized it is a

short-term solution.

Austin Chamber of Com-

merce representatives, mean-

while, announced a longer-

term effort Thursday to

address homelessness. The

chamber said it is forming a

coalition with faith-based

partners to try to raise $

million to build and operate

one or more shelters that can

hold about 150 bunk beds.

Both new efforts could have

political implications on an is-

sue where Mr. Abbott and

other Republican leaders have

accused the liberal city gov-

ernment of failing in leader-

ship. Conservative state lead-

ers have in recent years railed

against Texas’ left-leaning ma-

jor cities, focusing legislative

efforts on overturning local

ordinances.

On homelessness, Mr. Ab-

bott has found increasing sup-

port from some city residents

who say they are frustrated

with the growing impact of

homeless people.

Austin’s debate mirrors

others around the country.

President Trump has threat-

ened federal action against

California cities for their high

homelessness numbers.

Escalating his feud with

Austin city leaders over how

to address the Texas capital’s

problem of homelessness, Gov.

Greg Abbott is planning to be-

gin housing homeless people

on state land.

The announcement comes

just days after state officials

began clearing people out

from underpasses Monday, a

move taken in opposition to

the policy the city council ad-

opted this summer allowing

camping in public, which

raised the visibility of the

city’s homeless population.

Mr. Abbott’s office said

Thursday that it will begin al-

BYELIZABETHFINDELL

Texas Governor Plans Austin Homeless Area

A Virgin Hyperloop One exhibit in Dubai, below, and a rendering. The price tag for the test track could be $300 million to $500 million.