Experts say a cash crunch in coming weeks could thrust the former president’s business into greater uncertainty than it has seen in decades
Hours after a New York judge ordered Donald Trump to pay a $355 million penalty for submitting false data to financial institutions, the former president railed against the decision during a fundraiser at his Mar-a-Lago Club with some of the Republican Party’s wealthiest donors.
Trump claimed at that Feb. 16 gathering that the judge in the civil fraud case had made history by ordering him to pay such a staggering sum, according to two people who were there. He suggested that the judgment was so severe that the public would consider it unfair and rally in support. Over and over, he returned to the penalty, livid at its size.
The episode offered a glimpse of Trump’s preoccupation with a legal decision that threatens his wealth and has thrust his business empire into greater uncertainty than perhaps any time since the 1990s, when his Atlantic City casinos fell into extreme debt, leading six of his companies to file for bankruptcy.
Trump, who built his business and political identities around boasts of financial savvy, now faces an immediate cash crunch of more than a half-billion dollars — the combined cost of two legal battles that will now test the limits of his personal wealth.
Yeah I just really wonder what happens here. Like this timeline is meaningful and its going to open up some interesting issues. What happens when he just says “No.”?
Do we expect legal enforcement? Does he get arrested? Does he just bail to Moscow? He’s under financial monitoring. What does he just steal from the the Republican warchest to fund his debts? Then what happens when that money is just … gone…?
So many uncertainties around this.
From the article, he has to put up the money in order to appeal:
Though he has vowed to appeal both cases, he must immediately grapple with the enormous sums that are at stake: To keep both judgments from being enforced while he appeals, he must put up the entire amount in either cash or bonds, according to legal experts. Usually, defendants must put up such bonds within 30 days of a final judgment to keep the plaintiff from collecting, experts said.
If he doesn’t appeal and doesn’t pay his penalty, NY has already indicated they’ll seize his assets:
New York Attorney General Letitia James told ABC News on Tuesday that she will seek to seize some of the former president’s assets if he’s unable to cover the bill from Judge Arthur Engoron’s Feb. 16 ruling.
I never honestly expected him to appeal. It was all blustering and threats in an attempt to bully the courts into giving him more leeway, and to secure more donations from his rube supporters.
Donald Trump knows full well that these civil judgements don’t matter at all. Unless he is able to win this election, he is going to spend the rest of his life in prison. Once this country learns what he was really doing with those classified materials, and how much of a traitor he really is then he will be well and truly fucked.
None of this money matters at all right now. If he gets back in the oval office he will manipulate the courts in a way that will guarantee he never pays, and if he doesn’t he is going to flee the country or tear it apart.
You don’t think going broke and having his assets seized, and possibly having to declare bankruptcy, won’t impact his image during the election at all? You can’t possibly be that naïve.
No, I don’t. Anybody who already supports Trump will just see him as even more of a martyr or defender of their cultish honor. Everybody else already knows he’s a fuck up and a confidence man, so this is totally on brand for him.
I’m also not convinced it will materially impact his election chances since that money is coming from PACs that are separate from his personal wealth. There is very little these civil cases are going to do to impact anything at the moment beyond putting additional pressure on him. It has always been the criminal cases that were the real concern, and his primary focus.
As I said, if he can avoid becoming a felon and win the election he will make these civil judgements disappear one way or another, and violently if necessary.
I’m not so sure.
We might find that Trumps support from wealthy donors and power brokers starts to wane.
That’s what you’re not getting. To the wealthy donors and power brokers, Trump is “their guy”. Covering his legal bills is just the price of entry. Remember: it’s a big club, and you’re not in it.
