Was Hunter Biden chairman of the World Food Program, which just won the Nobel Peace Prize, and were Eric Trump, Donald J. Trump Jr. and Ivanka Trump banned from ever operating a charity again because they stole donations to children with cancer? No, neither of these claims are true. Hunter Biden was a member and chairman of the board for World Food Program USA, which is the American affiliate for the United Nations organization that won the Nobel Peace Prize -- but he was not chairman of that global organization. President Donald Trump's three eldest children are not banned from operating a charity.
The claim appeared as a post (archived here) where it was published by Facebook on October 20, 2020. It opened:
Hunter Biden was Chairman of the World Food Program, which just won the Nobel Peace Prize.
This is what the post looked like on Facebook at the time of writing:
(Source: Facebook screenshot taken on Wed Oct 21 19:26:18 2020 UTC)
This is the full text of the meme:
Hunter Biden was Chairman of the World Food Program, which just won the Nobel Peace Prize. Eric Trump, Donald J Trump Jr and Ivanka Trump are banned from ever operating a charity again because they stole donations to children with cancer. Any questions?
Joe Biden's son Hunter served on the board of the World Food Program USA from 2009 to 2018, the organization confirmed to Lead Stories. He was the board chair from 2012 to 2017.
The World Food Program USA did not win the Nobel Peace Prize. The program in the United States raises funds and gives grants to the United Nations World Food Programme -- that organization won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2020.
From the World Food Program USA website:
World Food Program USA (WFP USA) is a U.S.-based non-profit organization dedicated to building support within the U.S. for the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP). It is headquartered in Washington, DC. The President & CEO reports to a Board of Directors comprised of leaders who are committed to supporting the organization's efforts to help alleviate global hunger.
Funding
We work to secure robust U.S. government financial commitment toward fighting and eradicating hunger, including strong support to the UN World Food Programme, the largest hunger-fighting organization in the world."
Eric Trump, Donald J Trump Jr, Ivanka Trump are not banned from operating a charity "because they stole donations to children with cancer" as the meme says without providing anything to substantiate the claim.
The Eric Trump Foundation was questioned over misuse of funds that the organization claimed was for St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital, according to a 2017 Forbes article.
And while donors to the Eric Trump Foundation were told their money was going to help sick kids, more than $500,000 was re-donated to other charities, many of which were connected to Trump family members or interests, including at least four groups that subsequently paid to hold golf tournaments at Trump courses."
Eric and his brother and sister are not banned from operating a charity because they stole donations from children with cancer.
There was a lawsuit that tried to ban President Donald Trump and his three eldest children from being involved in charities in New York, but the ban never happened. A November 7, 2019 press release from the state attorny general detailed the case.
New York Attorney General Letitia James today announced that the New York Supreme Court ordered Donald J. Trump to pay $2 million in damages for improperly using charitable assets to intervene in the 2016 presidential primaries and further his own
political interests. The award is part of Attorney General James' lawsuit against the
Donald J. Trump Foundation and its directors -- Mr. Trump, Donald Trump Jr., Ivanka Trump, and Eric Trump.
As part of the settlement, Attorney General James also announced that her office entered into multiple stipulations with the Trump Foundation and its directors to resolve the remaining claims in the lawsuit. Chiefly, Mr. Trump admits to personally misusing funds at the Trump Foundation, and agrees to restrictions on future charitable service and ongoing reporting to the Office of the Attorney General in the event he creates a new charity. The settlements also include mandatory training requirements for Donald Trump Jr., Ivanka Trump, and Eric Trump. Finally, the settlements name the charities that will receive the remaining assets of the Trump Foundation as part of its dissolution.
"The Trump Foundation has shut down, funds that were illegally misused are being restored, the president will be subject to ongoing supervision by my office, and the Trump children had to undergo compulsory training to ensure this type of illegal activity never takes place again," said Attorney General James. "The court's decision, together with the settlements we negotiated, are a major victory in our efforts to protect charitable assets and hold accountable those who would abuse charities for personal gain. My office will continue to fight for accountability because no one is above the law -- not a businessman, not a candidate for office, and not even the President of the United States."
None of the Trumps are banned from participating in charities.
