Donald Trump is confronted with twin legal dilemmas on Monday in New York, where he faces the possibility of his famed properties being confiscated following a substantial fine, while simultaneously attempting to delay a criminal trial even further.
Despite facing an array of legal charges, the 77-year-old real estate magnate has managed to clinch the Republican nomination once more, even as he grapples with heavy fines imposed in two civil cases.
In the ongoing case regarding business fraud, his legal team must demonstrate on Monday either his ability to ensure payment of the $454 million penalty or confront the potential seizure of certain assets.
Following a trial without a jury, Judge Arthur Engoron found Trump and his two adult sons guilty and imposed the fine.
If Trump is unable to provide the needed bond — and his lawyers have said they have tried in vain to secure 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.”
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Separately, a criminal court in Manhattan convenes at 9:30 am (1330 GMT) to set a new date in his historic trial over payments to porn star Stormy Daniels.
The former president took to his Truth Social platform Saturday to again blast Judge Engoron and New York Attorney General Letitia James in no uncertain terms.
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 purported challenges in securing a bond, Trump boasted online on Friday about his nearly $500 million in cash, attributing it to “hard work, talent, and luck,” earmarking the funds for his election campaign against President Joe Biden.
He claimed that the judge was fully aware of this and had intentions to deprive him of it.
On Friday, Trump received a boost in his financial fortunes as it was revealed that Truth Social would soon go public through a merger, potentially resulting in billions of dollars in profit for him.
Although he is unable to access the funds for six months, the potential earnings could bolster his ability to secure a bond.
If he fails to do so, Carl Tobias of the University of Richmond law school said Trump “confronts the prospect of humiliation and serious financial harm.”
James could order a freeze on his bank accounts, or move to seize some of his New York properties.
Trump might “even declare bankruptcy,” Tobias said.
His legal team has exhaustively pursued all available means to postpone his numerous trials, ideally aiming for a delay until after the presidential elections on November 5.
Originally scheduled to begin on Monday, the trial involving Stormy Daniels, known as Stephanie Clifford, has been pushed back by at least a month. Trump stands accused of using campaign funds illegally to secure her silence regarding an alleged affair.
Although he has repeatedly denied any engagement in the affair, the former president could face a maximum prison sentence of four years if convicted.
His legal team is petitioning for a postponement of at least three months to allow them sufficient time to review thousands of pages of evidence recently provided by prosecutors.
Furthermore, they are requesting for the trial to be delayed until the US Supreme Court issues a decision on his claim of absolute immunity for actions performed during his time as president.