Pamela Harriman to Replenish 2 Trusts

Pamela C. Harriman, the U.S. ambassador to France, will pay millions of dollars into two charitable trusts depleted by bad investments to avoid a conflict with the Internal Revenue Service, her attorney said Saturday.

“Mrs. Harriman is committed to replenish the full amount that is determined to be owed to those trusts,” said attorney William J. Perlstein. He estimated the amount at $4.5 million.

Harriman is embroiled in long-running legal disputes with the heirs of her late husband, W. Averell Harriman, a former U.S. ambassador to the Soviet Union and governor of New York. Among other things, the heirs have alleged that Pamela Harriman misused the two trusts, borrowing from them or squandering the money.

Perlstein said he did not believe that Harriman had borrowed from the two charitable trusts.

The charitable trusts, which had held $6 million, were set up to finance the W. Averell and Pamela C. Harriman Foundation, which has supported the study of international affairs at institutions including Columbia University, the Library of Congress and the Brookings Institution.