Donald Trump created the Donald J. Trump Foundation in the 1980s purportedly to donate proceeds from his Art of the Deal book to charity. Trump stopped donating to his foundation in 2008 and instead solicited donations from outside donors. Journalists investigated the foundation during the 2016 election and found repeated cases of illegal self-dealing and ethical problems in which Trump would use donations to the foundation for some of his own personal or business expenses and for political contributions. The foundation shut down in December 2018 following an investigation and civil suit by New York’s attorney general.