March 23, 2024

"Former president Donald Trump claimed Friday that he had 'almost $500 million' in cash, undercutting his lawyers’ previous statements..."

"... that he would not be able to pay a bond of more than $450 million to secure a massive judgment in his New York civil fraud case. 'I currently have almost five hundred million dollars in cash, a substantial amount of which I intended to use in my campaign for president,' Trump said Friday morning in a TruthSocial post in all caps..... Gregory Germain, a law professor at Syracuse University, said the post undermines his credibility and the credibility of his witnesses who testified that he doesn’t have the money. 'It definitely hurts him to say "I’ve got the cash, I just don’t want to put it up,"' Germain said. 'It’s just very difficult to understand why he would do something like that.'... Adam Levitin, a professor at Georgetown Law who specializes in bankruptcy, said in an email that Trump 'might have cash on hand, but if he has to commit it to posting the appellate bond, it won’t be available for use in his businesses, which require a certain amount of cash for their normal operations.' Levitin added that 'the real question is whether he’ll post a bond in the end, and that hasn’t happened yet.'"

From "Trump claims he has $500 million in cash, undercutting his lawyers/The former president says he has ‘almost $500 million’ in cash, days after his lawyers stated that it would be nearly impossible to post the judgment of nearly half a billion dollars in his New York civil fraud case" (WaPo).

43 comments:

Leland said...

A Syracuse law professor thinks Trump lawyers should have committed fraud by suggesting Trump had $500 million before the Truth Social deal closed? Are ethics not required to teach law in NY?

typingtalker said...

Claimed? Show Me The Money ...

Aggie said...

"'It definitely hurts him to say "I’ve got the cash, I just don’t want to put it up,"' Germain said, hopefully.

There Germain, fixed it for ya - except that, he didn't say that whole 'just don't want to put it up' part. Right?

The BS continues. Is Trump playing the fool, or 'playing' the fools?

Mike (MJB Wolf) said...

I wonder if something changed with his finances between the time his lawyer said A and Trump “days later” said B. You would think that a news reporter would have a little curiosity about the, what’s the word, CONTEXT.

This is your second blatant reminder that if you think you hate Big Media enough you are wrong. There’s always room to dial it up a notch. Thank you WaPo for confirming what the NYT and the rest posited already today on this fine blog. I appreciate Althouse eye for manipulative language and juxtaposition both. Well played.

rehajm said...

Wait - who is undercutting their credibility here? It definitely isn’t Trump…

Even the silence is damaging…

Bob Boyd said...

If I had a nickel for every time somebody said, "It’s just very difficult to understand why he would do something like that" since Trump came down the escalator, I could cover Trump's bond and still buy myself a jet for my birthday.

tim maguire said...

Trump can pay his bond, all he has to do is drop out of the presidential race. Which is, of course, the whole point of the bond.

stlcdr said...

The whole thing is a farce.

Indeed, I understand the government is lining up to possess Trumps properties…before the deadline for him to post any kind of cash.

The government is going beyond partisan politicking to down right totalitarian evil.

Bob Boyd said...

"It’s just very difficult to understand why he would do something like that."

Trump should make a campaign commercial with nothing but clips of Trump rallies alternating with clips of college professors saying, "It’s just very difficult to understand why he would do something like that."

Professor Germain! We're definitely living in simulation.

dbp said...

If the $500 million is campaign funds, Trump could only spend this money on campaign related and not for personal expenses. These stories are vague about the status of this cash.

Another old lawyer said...

Whatever Trump is paying his attorneys, it's not nearly enough to have Trump as a client.

wildswan said...

It's not OK for the same evil New York judges and their masters in Albany which allowed this enormous, illegal fine to then try to extract all Trump's cash. But it's New York where muggers go free whether they are free-lancing on the streets on the streets or posing as agents of the law such as DAs or judges in the courts.

Trump probably knows how much liquidity he has really needed and used over the last years.
Isn't his financial situation similar to the situation of people considering how much they are willing to put up as a down payment on a mortgage? They might have more cash than they want to put into the one single project of buying a house - they might want rainy day savings, vacation savings, Christmas savings. Trump might want cash for spot needs related to his business interest and and his campaign. For example, he might want to make sure that he can choose his VP without being wholly dependent on donors who provided cash at a needed moment. (It seems that RFK Jr. has chosen as his VP the woman who has been supplying his campaign with emergency cash when needed; we all want Trump's VP to be chosen on less arbitrary grounds. She is the former wife of the founder of Google spending her alimony on a political career. Though VP doesn't mean much because, of course, there's no reason to think that something might happen to a Kennedy which would result in projecting his running mate into the highest office. )

Ann Althouse said...

Maybe he plans to use the money to pay the judgment, then appeal to supporters to replace the money because it was what he was going to use to fund his own campaign.

How much would each supporter of Trump's need to give to add up to $450 million? Ten million supporters could give $45. I predict we'll hear that appeal for donations.

Butkus51 said...

I smell Karma and it smells delicious.

AMDG said...

The tell here is that he said he needs the money for his campaign. This quite simply is not true. Trump has used very little his own money in the campaign. Instead he has used his campaign as a piggy bank to pay his lawyers. The deal with the RNC is that funds first go to his campaign, then his lawyers, and finally the remaining scraps can go to the RNC’s primary function - to help Republican candidates win.

Michael said...

As is generally the case, Trump is baiting them. And they are rising like fat trout to mayflies. The more the Deep State persecutes him, the more the average person sympathizes (especially minorities).

iowan2 said...

"Trump 'might have cash on hand, but if he has to commit it to posting the appellate bond, it won’t be available for use in his businesses, which require a certain amount of cash for their normal operations"

Isn't this the very essence of the 8th amendment?

Protect the People from the govt using its almost limitless power to punish those the govt finds offensive?

The purpose, in law, for the bond, is to keep the person found liable, from skipping out on responsibility to honor the court ordered settlement.

If the govt can force a person into bankruptcy through fines, is destroys Democracy. (or is that only a claim lying leftists are allowed to make?)

This entire prosecution was in direct violation of 8th Amendment. We have an hour of video of James promising to prosecute Trump by scouring the statutes to find a crime he has committed.

There is no deep conspiracy, only a Prosecutor promising to strip an individual of due process and 8th amendment protections. All facilitated by a soon to retire Judge.

iowan2 said...

If the $500 million is campaign funds, Trump could only spend this money on campaign related and not for personal expenses. These stories are vague about the status of this cash.

Learn the beauty of "fungible" It applies here, unless God Engoron, changes the meaning of simple words again.

Darkisland said...

The deal with the RNC is that funds first go to his campaign, then his lawyers, and finally the remaining scraps can go to the RNC’s primary function - to help Republican candidates win.

And THAT is why I send my donations directly to Mar a Lago and Rome GA.

Not to actred or any other republican party scam

I don't want a single cent of my money going to the republican party. Or the Democrat or Libertarian or any other party for that matter.

If pedjt or mtg want to give some to the party, I will prefer they didn't. But at least if the flow is me>them>party the party is beholden to them.

If me>party>them they are beholden to the party and screw that.

John Henry

Robert Cook said...

"Trump can pay his bond, all he has to do is drop out of the presidential race."

If that is money given and intended by donors for Trump's campaign expenses, can he legally take it and spend it on anything other than campaign expenses, (assuming he actually has the sum he claims)?

Yancey Ward said...

This is almost certainly campaign donations, if it exists. The state of New York can't seize it and Trump can't use it for a bond. Legally and financially, the best for Trump is probably to ignore the Monday deadline and just let the NY AG seize the property. He will then still be free to pursue appeals in New York State and at the federal level- probably a stronger position to go federal after New York starts seizing stuff- maybe strong enough to get a stay of action.

Of course, the media writers of this story are appalled that Trump has this much money to fight a campaign- they clearly are desperate to find a way to seize it.

RCOCEAN II said...

Every article about Trump if full of x-burts who hate Trump speculating, mindreading, and giveing us their OPINIONS about what Trump meant.

Trump didn't "undercut his lawyers". Its part of public merger/stock deal that he just got 500 million in cash.

What happened to Trump is insane. Compare this to the bakery who sued Oberlin college. How long did it take for the bakery to get their small sum of money? Years! Here, there were no victims. No one was injured by Trump supposedly inflating his asset values. But Leftwing Judge Estrogen ruled otherwise and fined Trump 500 million. An abuse of power.

Everyone, even the average American Dumbo, understands we have leftwing courts that are using lawfare to destroy their opponents. No one respects the law. There is no rule of law. Frankly, I'm glad. Maybe people will now start to rein in judicial power.

Ann Althouse said...

"If the $500 million is campaign funds, Trump could only spend this money on campaign related and not for personal expenses."

I read his statement to mean that this is his own money and he was saving it for this purpose, not that it was donated money.

WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...

Trump has a lot of die hard supporters. They need to pony up.

Original Mike said...

"Trump has a lot of die hard supporters. They need to pony up.".

So that Biden's jackbooted thugs can come after me?

Rusty said...

Another old lawyer said...
"Whatever Trump is paying his attorneys, it's not nearly enough to have Trump as a client."
That's as much as saying the game is rigged.

Drago said...

Boulder Idiot: "Trump has a lot of die hard supporters."

Congratulations on your GOPe/dem budget victory yesterday.

With any luck, from your GOPe/dem alliance point of view, you guys should be able to throw control of the House to Jeffries by late spring/summer.

Keep ponying up for more of those wins for the "respectable" republicans!

Drago said...

Althouse: "I read his statement to mean that this is his own money and he was saving it for this purpose, not that it was donated money."

Correct.

Joe Smith said...

'I read his statement to mean that this is his own money and he was saving it for this purpose, not that it was donated money.'

If Fani can do it, why can't Trump?

Wince said...

I agree with Althouse's take on this.

Mark said...

'It’s just very difficult to understand why he would do something like that.'

Because he's Donald Effing Trump, that's why, biatch.

Mark said...

It's been understood that Trump considers these trials to be attacks on his campaign and therefore his lawyer's expenses are campaign expenses, which then allows him to give the money you think is going toward his election to pay off his legal bills instead.

I've long said that after all these trials are over, we can expect another round, this time with charges of fraud and misappropriation of campaign funds for personal use.

Drago said...

At least now we know why Ronna Romney was so keen on having NBC/MSNBC host a "republican debate".

JK Brown said...

I am constantly told by the Democrats/never-Trumpers that Trump lies, all the time. Yet, this they take as fact. Trump is running the news cycle. And he's making sure that James keeps this "injustice" stays front and center throughout the campaign.

I've been having fun pointing out how Donald Trump save Manhattan in the eighties by doing bold projects when everyone else was just enjoying the decline. And best of all, NY going after Trump may accelerate the current decline. Can NYC get the Bud Light treatment?

Achilles said...

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

Trump has a lot of die hard supporters. They need to pony up.

We know that Desantis and his supporters are unhappy the lawfare didn't remove Trump for them. And you are happy to support candidates that are funded by corporate masters.

Now you want the government to bankrupt deplorables.

It is really awful to see "conservatives" attack an actual political movement that is driven by the people that support the candidate rather than an obvious corporate tool like Desantis.

You are a pathetic political movement. It would be more embarrassing to be a GOPe toady than it is to be a Democrat at this point.

Rabel said...

The idea that Trump is siting on 500 million in campaign funds is nonsense - that's at least one zero too many. It's the liquid operating capital for his businesses and his personal cash assets.

And as I understand it the law specifically requires that he post an insured bond, not that he actually pays the judgement.

The Post obscures this when they write "post the judgment."

Bruce Hayden said...

“I read his statement to mean that this is his own money and he was saving it for this purpose, not that it was donated money.”

Kinda yeh. As I read it, I got the impression that he was saying that he had been meaning to use the money to self fund his campaign, but now the rest of us are going to have to pick up the slack. Which may be a bit deceptive, since I have been getting frequent requests for money from his older two boys for awhile now, and now his DIL as the new GOP co-chair. They do need the money - Romney’s family member who used to run the RNC was really horrid in this respect (and stiffed non GOPe candidates), and as a result, FJB and the DNC have a big funding advantage that needs to be overcome, and that doesn’t even count their big Dark Money advantage.

Mikey NTH said...

$500 million in his cash or campaign funds? It's kind of important.

Drago said...

Bruce Hayden: "Romney’s family member who used to run the RNC was really horrid in this respect (and stiffed non GOPe candidates),..."

Uh oh!

Be very careful Bruce. There are some conservative/republican posters on this blog that will not tolerate any criticism of any republicans, past or present, unless that person is DJT and DJT alone as, apparently, DJT is the solely responsible for what has occurred over the last 50 years and today and into the future. All others get a permanent free pass on betrayals and failures.

Tread carefully.

The Godfather said...

"Trump considers these trials to be attacks on his campaign and therefore his lawyer's expenses are campaign expenses" (Mark 1:01 pm). Is there any doubt that the lawsuits brought against Trump -- most specifically the victimless-crime suit based on what he claims his properties are worth -- are politically motivated? I claim no expertise in campaign finance law, but if I were a Trump supporter, I'd certainly be happy to see my money go to oppose that suit.

Ampersand said...

You can only run for prez if you have a contribution pipeline, or if you're independently wealthy. If NY can confiscate his wealth, it can impair his campaign. That's the maguffin.

Mason G said...

If Trump is as divisive and unliked a candidate as progressives and their GOPe buttsniffers constantly say, why do they care about whatever donations he might manage to attract?

Brian said...

Yancey wrote:
... the best for Trump is probably to ignore the Monday deadline and just let the NY AG seize the property.

And lo and behold the $500 million is now only $175 million. Is there any better negotiator than Trump?

WSJ: Trump Can Post Smaller $175 Million Bond in Civil Fraud Case

More importantly it walked back some of the other penalties: "including curbs on lending and some Trump family members serving in leadership roles at the company. "

They really want to avoid an 8th amendment federal issue here. Wonder what happens when Trump repeats the whole process in 10 days.