Warren, Blumenthal, Stansbury Press Big Tech CEOs on Trump Settlements to Now-Dissolved Library Fund

Warren, Blumenthal, Stansbury Press Big Tech CEOs on Trump Settlements to Now-Dissolved Library Fund

ABC, Meta, X, Paramount potentially sent up to $63 million in settlements to Trump Library fund that has since been dissolved

"The Fund is now gone, and the public has no clarity about the current location or purpose of the funds provided."

Text of ABC Letter (PDF) | Text of Meta Letter (PDF) | Text of X Letter (PDF) | Text of Paramount Letter (PDF)

Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), along with Representative Melanie Stansbury (D-N.M.), pressed ABC, Meta, X, and Paramount on their settlements with President Donald Trump, in which the companies promised to donate as much as $63 million to President Trump's future Presidential Library.

But the Donald J. Trump Presidential Library Fund, created to receive donations, has now been dissolved with no disclosure about the disposition of any funds, leaving the American public with no information as to the whereabouts of tens of millions of dollars in settlement funds from President Trump's lawsuits. If these contributions were all crafted as "Charitable Contribution[s]" as ABC's was, these giant corporations may have been able to deduct the contributions from their income as a tax write-off.

"It is unclear where this money has gone, exacerbating concerns about corruption that were raised at the time of the settlement[s]," wrote the lawmakers.

On December 13, 2024, ABC News agreed to pay $15 million to settle a lawsuit with then-President-elect Trump. According to the settlement agreement, this payment was to be made as a charitable contribution "to a Presidential foundation and museum to be established by or for" President Trump. Days later, the Donald J. Trump Presidential Library Fund, Inc. was incorporated. Meta and X similarly settled lawsuits brought by Trump, with the money flowing into the Library Fund, and Paramount's settlement payment to Trump's Presidential Library also potentially went to the Library Fund at issue.

While the Fund was originally formed with the purpose of "preserving and stewarding the legacy of President Donald J. Trump and his presidency," it was amended last February to fit the criteria of a 501(c)(3) charitable organization, making it exempt from federal income taxes. A second nonprofit, the Donald J. Trump Presidential Library Foundation, Inc., was later formed under the original mission, but was established by a different incorporator.

In September 2025, the original Fund was administratively dissolved by Florida's Department of State after the organization failed to submit a mandatory annual report. On December 29, 2025, the Fund's incorporator filed articles of dissolution. Before its dissolution, the Fund may have contained as much as $63 million in settlements from ABC, Meta, X, and Paramount alone.

"The Fund is now gone, and the public has no clarity about the current location or purpose of the funds provided by ABC or any other source," wrote the lawmakers.

The lawmakers asked the CEOs of the four firms to provide detailed explanations regarding the original terms and conditions of their settlement agreements with President Trump, including the amount of settlement money that went to President's Trump's future Presidential Library, and the firms' awareness that the Fund be closed and their contributions transferred, by March 23, 2026.

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