Civil judgments stall while criminal cases move slowly
For all the attention being paid to Donald Trump’s likely upcoming criminal trial in Manhattan, he faces a much more pressing threat in the coming days: the prospect of being unable to post nearly half a billion dollars in bail in the New York Civil Court. fraud case against him and his company.
Trump’s lawyers revealed in a court filing this week that the Trump Organization had approached about 30 companies in an attempt to secure the massive bond, but that none would underwrite such a large bond without the former president committing a lot of money . At this point, Trump lacks the liquidity to secure such a large bond.
The bond would prevent the attorney general, Letitia James, from immediately collecting a $454 million judgment while he appeals the case, in which a judge ruled he fraudulently inflated his assets. It is possible that a higher court could stay the ruling or reduce the size of the bond, but if that doesn’t happen, Trump faces difficult options.
The financial pressure on Trump underlines how even as he faces four criminal trials that are moving slowly, the civil cases against him are already putting significant pressure on him. He has had to post a separate $91.6 million bond in a defamation case he recently lost to writer E. Jean Carroll. And this week, his lawyers asked for a stay of civil cases filed against him in federal court in Washington to hold him accountable for the violence at the Capitol on January 6, 2021.
He could get some welcome financial news in the coming days through a complex transaction that will see his social media company, Truth Social, go public after its stock price is boosted by Trump supporters. But it’s not clear whether his stake in the social media company can be easily or quickly converted into cash. And the money crisis is not just personal. His campaign’s fundraising is far behind President Biden’s.
Moreover, the gargantuan judgment hanging over his head as he runs again for the nation’s highest office has created the possibility that the transactional former president could entangle himself in ethical trouble in the pursuit of money, said Richard Painter, a law professor at New York University. Minnesota, who served as President George W. Bush’s chief ethics lawyer.
“And with what he owes, it will become increasingly tempting for him to increase his revenues by making deals with foreign governments,” said Painter, who has often criticized Trump. “That could be a serious problem.”
Business deals
Trump has never drawn a line between his public and private roles. After his election, he said he turned his company over to his two adult sons, and they halted new foreign deals while he was president, but he never placed the assets in a blind trust. The hotel he owned in Washington did significant business with foreign governments and others with interests in policy and politics during his presidency. He refused to release his tax returns.
Just as he prepared to become a presidential candidate for a third time in November 2022, he signed a new real estate deal in Oman, helped by the Saudis, who also poured $2 billion into an investment fund set up by his son-in-law. law, Jared Kushner.
In the civil case in New York, James, the attorney general, has expressed skepticism that Trump has actually exhausted his options to pay the bond.
The immediate backdrop to Trump’s financial squeeze is the first of several criminal trials he is facing, following charges filed by Manhattan prosecutors on charges of falsifying corporate records to cover up hush money spent during the 2016 campaign. a porn star has been paid. That case could start next month, despite a recent delay; The judge is likely to make a decision on the timing after a hearing on Monday.
However, not all of Trump’s civil cases are moving as quickly as those in New York. In seeking a stay this week in the six civil lawsuits filed against him in Washington following the Jan. 6 riot, his lawyers argued that proceedings should wait until after his federal criminal trial related to many of the same events.
In requesting a delay, Trump’s lawyers said it would be unfair to force him to defend himself against the civil lawsuits now because it could allow him to reveal his defense strategy against the criminal complaint, which was filed by the special counsel, Jack . Smith.
If the judge overseeing the trials grants Trump’s stay, it is not clear when the cases will resume. The Jan. 6-related criminal case itself has been at a standstill for months as a series of courts have reviewed Trump’s efforts to dismiss the indictment with a broad claim of executive immunity. The Supreme Court is set to hear arguments on Trump’s immunity claim on April 25 and could issue a ruling in June, returning the case to the courts.
Your questions
We ask readers what they want to know about the Trump cases: the indictment, the proceedings, the key players or whatever. You can submit your question to us by completing this form.
Given the wide range of emotions surrounding Trump, how realistic is the chance to seat an objective jury. Wouldn’t a hung jury benefit Trump? –Gregory Richmond, Chesterfield, Ind.
Alan: Picking a jury for any of Trump’s trials will undoubtedly be a long and challenging process, not only because people have strong opinions about him, but also because the publicity surrounding the trials will be ubiquitous. But the jury selection process will focus on whether potential jurors can set aside the noise and judge the case fairly. Trump would certainly call any case that ends in a hung jury a victory, but prosecutors can always try to retry him.
Where is each criminal case?
Trump is at the center of at least four separate criminal investigations, at both the state and federal levels, into matters related to his business and political careers. Here’s where each case currently stands.