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CNN
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Donald Trump’s three-day deadline to find nearly $500 million in funding, or risk seeing his prized property empire dismantled building by building, is the lowest of any U.S. president to date. This has led to one of the most unusual developments ever seen in an election campaign.
New drama for President Trump as he tries to come up with a bond to cover $464 million plus interest to appeal a civil fraud judgment against him, his adult sons, and his company. It’s about what you’re struggling with. If he doesn’t manage to find the money by Monday, New York Attorney General Letitia James could begin seizing some of Trump’s assets to cover his obligations to the state. She laid the groundwork with court filings suggesting President Trump’s Seven Springs mansion and golf course in Westchester County, New York, could be her first target.
“The attorney general is ready. They are ready to go after his money to fulfill the judgment,” Adam Reitman Bailey, a real estate lawyer who has sued Trump seven times, told CNN’s Erin. told Barnett. “The question is how difficult it is to gather it.”
Although this is primarily a crisis regarding Trump’s business and personal wealth, it has real political implications given his status as the Republican presidential nominee. No other candidate has faced so much turmoil during their campaign. And it is separate from the former commander-in-chief’s parallel series of criminal cases that have dominated the run-up to Election Day and could add to the election chaos. If he wins against President Joe Biden, he will be in office for the second time.
Trump’s increasingly alarming posts on social media on Thursday offered a glimpse into his desperation. And they showed that every one of his cases now has a similar defense. He claims he is not guilty of breaking the law but is the victim of endless political persecution. For example, President Trump wrote “election interference” on his own Truth social network. He complained that arranging funds to allow an appeal is “very expensive.” And he sent out a fundraising appeal to his supporters titled “Keep your dirty hands away from Trump Tower!”
Even one of his lawsuits would have been enough to force a traditional candidate out of the race. But Mr. Trump is leading in many polls across the country and in battleground states, and his attempts to turn a series of legal pressures into persecution are having an effect among many Republican voters. It is shown that. His campaign position was to try to convince Americans that the recovering economy was healthier than they perceived in their daily lives, given their expensive grocery store trips and high mortgage rates. The president’s unpopular status reflects the difficult issues that are casting a shadow on Biden’s re-election bid. Other big purchases can be very daunting.
President Trump’s opponents will be happy to see his asset portfolio destroyed by James, but the political impact of such a humiliation will be unclear. The resulting uproar could add fuel to the former president’s claims that he is being unfairly targeted by Democratic prosecutors because of who he is. One of his closest allies, New York Rep. Elise Stefanik, has already reinforced that impression by slamming what she calls a “fundamentally un-American” campaign against him. trying to encourage. But at the same time, the latest controversy over Mr. Trump may begin to remind moderate Republicans and independent voters of the daily turmoil that defined Mr. Trump’s time in office. Biden’s campaign has long argued that this will inevitably lead voters to change the president’s ways, even though previous polls show little evidence that this is happening.
The former president’s struggle to raise funds after several insurance companies refused to underwrite his bonds is a humiliating sight for a former president whose image as an accomplished real estate tycoon is central to his public brand. The frenzied gold hunt raises painful questions about the size of Trump’s liquid assets, which he has long boasted about. It’s also an undignified predicament for the man who could occupy the White House in 10 months’ time, and if he were to spend the 11th hour trying to find funding from private donors or even overseas. This suggests that relying on other sources of funding poses a troubling conflict of interest.
CNN’s Caitlan Collins reported this week that the rush to raise money for the bonds is causing panic among the former president’s inner circle. But as serious as it is, the drama over debt payments is just one of multiple crises facing President Trump.
— On Thursday, CNN reported that Fulton County, Georgia, District Attorney Fani Willis plans to push hard for a trial before the November election to thwart President Trump’s delaying tactics. a close relationship with his fellow prosecutors; Given the complexity of the extortion case, which includes numerous former Trump associates as co-defendants, such a timeline feels extremely optimistic. “I really think this is mostly just a charade by the prosecutor’s office,” former U.S. Attorney Michael Moore told CNN on Thursday. Willis hopes to have a court date soon, but he’s not completely relieved yet. Despite reprimanding her actions, the judge who allowed her to proceed with the case also granted the defendant the right to appeal her sentence.
— Elsewhere in Trump’s multi-city legal quagmire, Judge Arthur Engoron, who oversaw the New York civil fraud case that Trump lost, will expand the scope of monitors conducting court-ordered surveillance. This imposed new constraints on the Trump Organization. The move means the company cannot move large amounts of money or take significant business actions without scrutiny, and is a departure for a company that has always played by its own rules. Become.
—Also in New York, the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office asked a judge not to further delay a trial over President Trump’s hush money payments to adult film actress Stormy Daniels during the 2016 campaign. . The trial was scheduled to begin on Monday, but was postponed after new documents came to light, and the former president is now seeking a 90-day delay. Judge Juan Melchan adjourned the case until at least April 15 and plans to hold a hearing on discovery issues on Monday, which could set a formal trial date.
— All of this comes as President Trump looks to run out the clock with a frenzy of lawsuits and appeals filed in the run-up to the November election, including federal prosecutors over allegations of election interference and mishandling of classified documents. The case is proceeding while the Trump trial is on hold. The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear his far-reaching claim of presidential immunity for acts committed while in office next month, with a decision expected by late June. The decision could have important implications for the criminal cases facing President Trump as he seeks a second term.
— But this week, a ray of light shines on the former president, whose net worth could soon soar thanks to the merger of media assets such as Truth Social Network and blank check company Digital World Acquisition Corp. The move would make Trump by far the largest shareholder in the merged public company, adding billions to his net worth on paper. In theory, this is the kind of windfall that could help Mr. Trump at a time when he faces extreme financial hardship and his campaign fundraising lags far behind Mr. Biden’s. But in reality, the terms of the deal mean the former president will not be able to liquidate his stock to immediately alleviate the financial crisis. And if he sells, the company’s stock price is likely to fall.
On March 6, a week after Engoron’s civil fraud ruling, state attorneys filed a judgment in Westchester County, north of Manhattan, alleging that Mr. Trump, his adult sons, and the Trump Organization received favorable loans, primarily from banks. It was determined that the company had committed a large-scale fraud by overvaluing real estate in order to secure the property. You will also get a better rate from your insurance company.
Lawyers for the former president revealed this week that he was unable to find an insurance company to underwrite the bond guaranteeing the state’s financial stake in the case while the appeals process is underway. Trump lost a defamation lawsuit against author E. Jean Carroll and has already asked for nearly $100 million in bail in another case, which he also plans to appeal.
Trump’s lawyers warned that any attempt to sell the property to comply with the judgment would cause him permanent financial harm as buyers would demand a “fire sale” price.
There’s another reason why James’ attempt to seize assets could be problematic for the former president, and it’s a much more complex proposition for the attorney general than it first appears.
It is certain that some of President Trump’s buildings and real estate will be financed through mortgages and other financial arrangements, which will be difficult to uncover. In the event of a sale, the proceeds would first go to the lender’s benefit. That means he may need to sell a significant portion of Trump’s empire to reach the figure of nearly $500 million he owes the country.
One option President Trump may have to consider is bankruptcy. This is something he has used several times during his colorful and checkered business career, and it could allow him to dispose of assets in an organized manner. But Collins reported this week that he has privately expressed opposition to that path, and it remains the least likely path for now.
After all, the stigma of enduring such a process so close to a general election may be too much for the former president to bear. And that will further heighten concerns that the former president is unfit to return to the Oval Office.
Whatever the resolution, the drama once again raises questions at the heart of this election. I mean, do Americans really want four more years of the mayhem, scandals, and challenges to the law that surround the former president week after week?
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