Donald Trump has been ordered to pay $354.9 million US in penalties for fraudulently overstating his net worth to dupe lenders, a New York judge ruled on Friday.
It’s the latest legal setback in a civil case that imperils his real estate empire. It was just weeks ago that Trump was ordered to pay $83.3 million to writer E. Jean Carroll for damaging her reputation after she accused him of sexual assault.
Add interest payments on top of that and the judgments could deal a staggering blow to the former U.S. president’s cash reserves, just months away from a presidential election.
As Trump seeks the Republican nomination to challenge Democratic President Joe Biden in the Nov. 5 U.S. election, here’s how the decision could impact Trump’s empire.
How much money does Trump owe now?
The verdict in the civil fraud trial requires Trump to pay interest on some of the deal profits he has been ordered to give up. New York Attorney General Letitia James, who brought the case, said the interest payments totalled $99 million US and would “continue to increase every single day until it is paid.”
Between Friday’s ruling and the two judgments in Carroll’s case, Trump would be on the hook for about $542 million US in legal judgments. As part of Friday’s ruling, the judge also ordered both of Trump’s sons to pay $4 million apiece.
That’s not all Trump owes. He’s currently trying to pay off another $110,000 for refusing to comply with a subpoena in the civil fraud case and $15,000 for repeatedly disparaging the judge’s law clerk in violation of a gag order.
Last month, he was ordered to pay nearly $400,000 in legal fees to The New York Times after suing the newspaper unsuccessfully. He is currently appealing a judgment of $938,000 against him and his attorney for filing what a judge described as a “frivolous” lawsuit against Hillary Clinton.
It’s possible some of the high-dollar amounts could be reduced on appeals. In the case of Trump’s civil fraud case, the appeal will go before an intermediate-level court first. If it returns an unfavourable ruling, Trump could try to get the case taken up by New York’s top appellate court, though legal experts told the Associated Press that’s unlikely.
Initially barred from giving a formal closing statement at his New York civil trial after not agreeing to rules set forth by the trial judge, Donald Trump spoke out in court, unleashing a barrage of attacks during a six-minute diatribe before being cut off by the judge.
Can Trump afford to pay the penalties?
Trump has claimed to be worth more than $10 billion. Most estimates, including an assessment by the New York attorney general, put that figure closer to $2 billion.
In his 2021 statement of financial condition, Trump said he had just under $300 million in “cash and cash equivalents.” He has since made a number of sales, including his New York golf course and his Washington, D.C., hotel. He may be in line for a windfall when his social media company Truth Social goes public.
But even with those income streams, it’s unclear whether Trump and his family members have enough cash on hand to pay all the money they now owe.
The ban on applying for loans from banks registered or chartered in New York could also severely restrict Trump’s ability to raise cash.
How soon does Trump have to pay?
Trump’s lawyers have vowed to appeal the decision, and an appeal could take more than a year. That said, he could be required to deposit the full amount of the judgment against him plus interest during any appeal — standard practice in similar cases.
Trump could also post a smaller amount with collateral and interest by securing a type of loan called an appeal bond. But he could have trouble finding a lender after Justice Arthur Engoron ruled Friday that he’d lied to banks about his wealth.
The president is not a king and the president’s assets are not sacrosanct just because he happened to be the president-Daniel Weiner, director of the Brennan Center’s Elections and Government Program
He could be required to pay the full sum immediately after the appellate court rules, which could come as soon as this summer, according to University of Michigan law professor Will Thomas.
“New York’s judicial system has shown a willingness to move quickly on some of these Trump issues,” Thomas told AP. “When we hear from the first appellate court, that’s a point where money is almost certainly going to change hands.”
At the end of the day, it’ll be up to the courts to decide how much Trump must put up as he mounts his appeal.
Can campaign funds or PAC money be used?
Federal election law prohibits spending campaign funds for personal use, but the rules are far murkier when it comes to tapping political action committees (PAC) for a candidate’s expenses.
Over the last two years, Trump’s Save America political action committee, his presidential campaign and his other fundraising organizations have devoted $76.7 million US to legal fees. Campaign finance experts expect Trump will try to spend PAC money to defray the cost of his judgments in some way.
“The likelihood of the Federal Election Commission in its current configuration pursuing these violations is not terribly great,” said Daniel Weiner, director of the Brennan Center’s Elections and Government Program.
What happens if Trump fails to pay?
Legally, the consequences Trump would face are the same ones facing any American refusing to pay a legal judgment. This includes seizing his assets, garnishing his wages and even imprisonment, though the latter is extremely unlikely, according to Reuters.
“The president is not a king and the president’s assets are not sacrosanct just because he happened to be the president,” Weiner said.
Former U.S. president Donald Trump is facing criminal charges for the fourth time, after a Georgia grand jury issued a sweeping indictment accusing him of trying to overturn his 2020 election loss to Joe Biden and of running a ‘criminal enterprise.’ Andrew Chang explains all of the charges, and why the latest are so significant.
On Friday, the judge overseeing Trump’s civil fraud case appointed an additional monitor to oversee the Trump Organization’s finances, finding they could not be trusted to follow the law. In the event that Trump refused to hand over payments, the courts would have additional discretion to go after Trump and his businesses.
“They have a huge amount of power particularly for someone like Trump who has physical assets inside the state,” said Thomas, the law professor. “The court might say we’re going to freeze your bank account. Or even worse, they could say, ‘We’re seizing Trump Tower and we’re putting it up for sale.'”
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