10mo ago

Clock is ticking for Trump to post bonds worth half a billion dollars

www.washingtonpost.com /investigations/2024/02/26/trump-money-bonds-engoron-carroll/

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.

Non-paywall link

38 comments

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.
  https://apnews.com/article/trump-letitia-james-fraud-lawsuit-judgment-verdict-63e643d0fe098cc1ac178c003f21a40d
  
  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.
  
  If he doesn’t appeal and doesn’t pay his penalty, NY has already indicated they’ll seize his assets
  Its one thing to signal, but this situation is a bit exceptional, even if we all wish it wasn't. He's a former President in an ongoing campaign for Presidency. What will the Letitia James do if Trump asks Proud Boys to take on security detail at his properties? Don't think they will? While Biden and the Democrats have been trying to brow beat their base into voting for a geriatric genocide supporting candidate, Trump has been rallying the ever living fuck out of his base. Those promises he made at CPAC, think he was bullshitting? Trump doesn't really bullshit. He means what he says and he says what he means. He's singularly unsubtle.
  There are a lot of fucked up, disgusting cohorts of people in this country who will see a massive increase in their scope of power if Trump becomes president again. They are vitriolic, cultish, well armed, and they truly believe in the righteousness of their world view. The stormed the capitol on his orders. Think they wont do it again?
  We've got Governers willing to defy federal orders right now. Would Greg Abbot or that cunt from Florida send state national guard troops to protect Trumps assets? Idk. Its wild to consider, but really not that wild.
  I think its naive to think that things will just happen right along the books in this situation. Its not a normal situation, and it expedites the timeline for Trump substantially, because without this ruling, he's skating into the white house in November. This could be a real setback, or a real rallying point. Its not clear to me what happens, and I don't think it should be clear to anyone. There is just too much uncertainty, and its not a normal situation.
  
  He only has to put up the money if he wants to pause judgement during the appeal. He's going to refuse to pay until the appeal fails, then appeal it again, daring the AG to seize his companies.

This is a total NON ISSUE! Donald Trump is a SUPER GENIUS BILLIONAIRE who will OBVIOUSLY be able to pay! This is just CHUMP CHANGE to him! That's why he's asking me for a donation of $100 TONIGHT! HEIL TRUMP!

Or what?
- The state of New York will start seizing his assets. That’s what. They’re not fucking around, and it will start happening immediately.
  
  That's what should happen but I'm so tired of hearing about prosecutors "not fucking around" with trump, and yet he's still walking around just fine
- After 30 days expire (from Friday?) then they start seizing assets.
  450 million or so plus interest for every day (87k per day? Which, if my math checks out comes to over 2.5 million. Probably more if the interest increases the total rather than being a straight fine.)
  
  I believe it increases the total, but I'm not absolutely certain. I doubt he'll be able to sit on it and increase it by another 50 million, though.
  
  That's a very decent annual salary, every single day. Yeowch.
- Thats the half billion dollar question isn't it.

38 comments