Trump's Trials - What happens if Trump can't pay his $454 million civil fraud penalty?

Starting point is 00:00:00 It's Trump's Trials from NPR. I'm Scott Detrow. We love Trump! This is a persecution. He actually just stormed out of the courtroom. Innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Our regular episodes come out every Saturday, but there's some news in one of former President Trump's cases today. So we're going to share a story that just aired on NPR. And then we'll be back with more in our usual episode on Saturday.

Starting point is 00:00:26 Thanks for listening. As people age, cellular function declines, which may impact changes in energy and strength. Solgar Cellular Nutrition is a holistic collection of cellular nutrients formulated to help fight cellular decline and promote cell health. Learn more at cellularnutrition.solgar.com. These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. You're listening to Trump's Trials. I'm Scott Detrow. And now here's Elsa Chang. Former President Trump needs to arrange a half-billion-dollar bond to comply with a New York state court ruling in less than a week.

Starting point is 00:01:23 But the presumptive Republican nominee says he cannot find a company to put up that bond. Trump's lawyers are asking an appeals court to stay the judgment. But the clock is ticking. NPR's Andrea Bernstein is here to tell us what comes next. Hey, Andrea. Hey, Elsa. OK, so just remind us exactly how Trump came to owe the state of New York about $454 million. million dollars. So this is the ruling that Judge Arthur Ngoran issued last month after finding that Donald, Eric, and Donald Trump Jr., along with Trump Organization employees, engaged in a decade-long conspiracy to lie about the value of their assets. In New York, if you make money by persistently

Starting point is 00:02:00 committing fraud, you owe the ill-gotten portion back to the state. In this case, Judge N'Goran determined Donald Trump made over $350 million more than he should have, if he'd been honest. And when you add in interest, you get to $454 million. Right, exactly. And Trump has appealed, but just explain why he still has to come up with the money now before that appeal is heard. So he doesn't have to up with the money now before that appeal is heard. So he doesn't have to actually pay the money now, but he has to get a company to make a guarantee to the court that they will pay the money if he loses his appeal. That's the bond part. But to get a bond, you have to put up assets.

Starting point is 00:02:51 Trump's lawyers said they'd approached 30 companies, but that getting a bond was a, quote, practical impossibility because they'd need a billion dollars in cash, which they say they don't have. A note, they submitted an affidavit from an insurance executive who had testified at trial and who the judge had already discredited. OK, well, clear this up for us. Trump says he is a billionaire, right? So why can't he just come up with the money himself? Yeah, Trump said during a deposition for this case taken about a year ago that he had plenty of cash. He said, and I'm quoting, I believe we have substantially in excess of $400 million in cash, which is a lot for a developer. Developers usually don't have cash. They have assets, not cash. He added it was 400 plus and going up very substantially every month. News organizations have estimated that Trump actually has about 300 million in liquid assets, but he already had to set aside 100 million or so to put up a bond to pay the verdict in the E. Jean Carroll civil case.

Starting point is 00:03:45 rest of his money is largely tied up in buildings and golf courses. And while he could sell a property, that doesn't happen right away. Trump said today that would be a, quote, fire sale, though he said many times during the trial he always could find a buyer to pay top dollar. Some context here. Trump already tried and failed to get the appeals court to lower the bond to $100 million. Some white-collar lawyers I spoke with think that he's trying to get the court to lower the bond to $100 million. Some white collar lawyers I spoke with think that he's trying to get the court to lower the amount of the bond by arguing he can't come up with the half billion that he's bargaining, in effect. Okay, well, the deadline to come up with the money is next Monday, right? So what does Trump do if the court doesn't rule his way? He can appeal to New York's highest court and ask that court to stay the judgment. If they don't, he can ask a benefactor, which raises all kinds of campaign finance questions.

Starting point is 00:04:29 Or he could stall some more until it comes into the money from the upcoming sale of his social media company. The New York AG has been clear. If Trump doesn't pay, she'll move to seize his assets. Here she was in an interview with ABC shortly after the verdict last month. assets. Here she was in an interview with ABC shortly after the verdict last month. If he does not have funds to pay off the judgment, then we will seek judgment enforcement mechanisms in court, and we will ask the judge to seize his assets. Trump's non-cash assets run to about $3 billion, Forbes estimates, so there's value there. There are about two dozen properties the AG could try to seize, everything from the Doral Golf Course to 40 Wall Street.

Starting point is 00:05:08 She's not limited to New York properties, so there are extra steps if she chooses to go out of state. She could, in theory, send a sheriff or a marshal to enforce the judgment. But that brings on another legal process, which, you guessed it, means more opportunities for delay. So Judgment Day is not upon us yet. That is NPR's Andrea Bernstein. Thank you, Andrea. Thank you. Thanks for listening to Trump's Trials from NPR. Keep an eye out for more episodes like this whenever big news happens. And we'll be back later this week with our regular show on Saturday. I'm Scott Detrow. management solutions. With SAP Concur Solutions, you'll be ready to take on whatever the market

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Trump's Trials - What happens if Trump can't pay his $454 million civil fraud penalty?

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