- cross-posted to:
- usnews@beehaw.org
- cross-posted to:
- usnews@beehaw.org
New York Attorney General trolls former president as interest starts accruing on monster judgment
A $455m judgment against Donald Trump is increasing by more than $110,000 each day due to interest penalties.
And New York Attorney General Letitia James, who is preprared to seize his assets if necessary, is not going to let Mr Trump forget.
When the final judgment in the sprawling fraud trial against Mr Trump, his adult sons Donald Jr and Eric Trump, and former Trump Organization executives was approved on Friday, the attorney general’s X account posted the exact figure down to the last cent.
Twenty four hours later, her account wrote: “+$114,553.04”.
The funny part is how so far Trump hasn’t posted a bond for the appeal. Trump doesn’t *have * to do it but the consequences of not doing so are basically calamitous - if he doesn’t post bond then the state can seize and sell off his property to the amount he owes. Then both sides fight about it for a year or whatever while the money sits in the court’s account and he is deprived of revenue from the properties sold. Oh and the interest keeps accruing. And the lawyer bill will be in the tens of millions.
I’m sure the state won’t be sensitive to his reputation when deciding what to seize to cover the debts. Can you imagine the hilarity that would ensue if they sold off Trump Tower or one of his other flagship properties?
So Trump is screwed. If he does somehow post bond there will be a lot of people asking how he managed it since he surely doesn’t have the cash. In that case expect firesales of his other properties and loans from super shady foreign businessmen.
I can imagine there are more than a few foreign (and domestic) billionaires salivating at the idea of buying a GOP presidential frontrunner while simultaneously securing fire-sale level security positions on his properties.
That the fun thing about what SCOTUS decided. Now that money is speech, foreign powers can set up PACs which claim to be helping a candidate get elected but are actually able to pay that candidate’s legal fees for something totally unrelated and it’s all totally legal!
God bless America, am I right?
Incidentally, on the day of the judgement, Elon’s jet was in the vicinity of Mar-a-Lago.
https://mastodon.social/@elonjet/111943376124018599
His plan is to become president and make those things go away. Seriously. How they go away isn’t important to him, so the calamitous side effects it would cause would be of none of his concern.
Of course it doesn’t work that way in a democracy. So they’re doing away with that too. If you’re an autocrat, suddenly state attorneys general don’t really have any power over you.
You say it doesn’t work that way yet this person’s entire career is one that proves that these systems don’t work.
He has largely been immune from consequence and until this actually starts to show teeth then it’s just more of the same.
They need to sell Trump Tower to someone that promises to show the exact same respect that Trump showed to the historic landmark that had multiple pieces of art promised to The Met, when he bought the property. Then, shove as much of his gaudy shit in there and demo the whole lot.
I’m hoping for they seize something big and humiliating to his reputation. Wouldn’t be surprised if we learn though that Trump Tower or whatever is mortgaged up the ass so the value in seizing it is far less than it’s the building’s valuation as a total. So that’ll be fun since they might have to seize multiple properties. Doesn’t have to be confined to NY either, they can enforce seizures on his golf courses, Mar a Lago etc.
So the same it’s been for 35 years.
Is it established that he’s the actual owner of those properties? Or are they empty shells?
I’m sure it’s super complicated what he owns, what his entities own, and what they owe the banks and other investors.
In practice it doesn’t matter. If he makes a shell company, the state can seize/lien his ownership thereof and then force a sale of the property anyway.
I don’t think that’s quite how it works, but I’m not sure.
If he wants to appeal then he has to post cash or surety within 30 days. If he does not, then he can not appeal.
However, I assume that if he does not, the court will still have some song and dance to do before seizing assets.
I suspect Trump will not post bond and appeal, but rather try to delay payment as long as possible, hoping to become POTUS and just authoritarian his way out of it.
He doesn’t have to post an appeal bond (otherwise known as a supersedeas bond) to appeal but not doing so means the plaintiff can seize the money pending the outcome of the appeal and can do so how they see fit after 30 days of the judgement.
So on the one hand he could put up various properties as sureties to a bond company and post bond and at least retain control & income from those properties pending appeal. Or he can fail to post bond let the plaintiffs seize what they like regardless of the harm it causes his reputation and business. I’m pretty sure E Jean Carroll and New York would be quite happy to force him to sell off Trump Tower or whatever else to meet his obligations.
But regarding surety & bond, I wonder what bond company would trust Trump’s valuations of his own properties. They’ll probably demand he put so much up in surety that he’d balk at it. Hence why shady foreign business men might enter the picture.