In addition to fighting to further postpone a criminal prosecution, Donald Trump is facing two legal problems in New York on Monday. One involves the potential seizure of his renowned properties due to an enormous fine.
Heavy fines have already been imposed in two civil lawsuits against the 77-year-old real estate mogul, who has secured the Republican nomination once more in spite of a barrage of legal allegations.
His attorneys will have to demonstrate on Monday that he can ensure the $454 million fine is paid or risk having part of his assets seized in his business fraud case.
Trump and his two adult sons were found guilty in a nonjury trial, and Judge Arthur Engoron issued the fine.
If Trump’s attorneys claim they have made fruitless attempts to obtain a bail and he is unable to afford one, then “obviously his image would change dramatically, I would think, for many people, because he has said that he’s a billionaire and very successful,” Andrew Weissmann, a former federal prosecutor and author of the book “The Trump Indictments,” told AFP.
“And if he cannot post a bond in any amount, that obviously is a huge problem.”
In the meantime, a Manhattan criminal court will meet at 9:30 am (1330 GMT) to reschedule the historic trial about the payments made to porn star Stormy Daniels.
The former president unleashed a fierce criticism of New York Attorney General Letitia James and Judge Engoron on Saturday on his Truth Social website.
In one all-caps message he denounced the judge as “GROSSLY INCOMPETENT AND CORRUPT,” and in another he said James “GOES AFTER TRUMP FOR DOING ABSOLUTELY NOTHING WRONG!”
Trump regularly rails against a judicial system he says is “fixed” against him. He has said James — who is Black — is “racist,” and accused Engoron of being a “crooked judge” controlled by Democrats.
Despite Trump’s supposed inability to secure a bond, he bragged online on Friday that due to “hard work, talent, and luck” he had almost $500 million in cash, which he said he had planned to spend on his election campaign against President Joe Biden.
The judge, he said, “knew this (and) wanted to take it away from me.”
On Friday, Trump received good financial news when it was revealed that Truth Social would eventually go public through a merger, a deal that would bring him billions of dollars.
The money is locked up for the next six months, but it might help him get a bond.
Trump “confronts the prospect of humiliation and serious financial harm” if he doesn’t comply, according to Carl Tobias of the University of Richmond law school.
James may decide to take possession of some of his properties in New York or order the freezing of his bank accounts.
Trump might “even declare bankruptcy,” Tobias said.
His attorneys have looked at every option to postpone his several trials until after the presidential elections on November 5.
Stormy Daniels’ trial, in which Stephanie Clifford is the true name, was supposed to start on Monday, but it has been postponed for at least a month. He is charged with unlawfully obtaining her silence on a purported affair through the use of campaign funds.
If found guilty, the former president—who has denied having the affair—may serve a term of up to four years in prison.
His legal team is asking for a minimum three-month hold-out so they may review the thousands of pages of material that the prosecution has now sent them.
Moreover, they want the trial to be postponed until the US Supreme Court makes a decision about his request for complete immunity for acts committed while serving as president.
