Less than a month after New York Attorney General Letitia James said she would be willing to seize former Republican President Donald Trump’s assets if he is unable to pay the $464 million required by last month’s judgment in his civil fraud case, Trump’s lawyers disclosed in court filings Monday that he had failed to secure a bond for the amount.

In the nearly 5,000-page filing, lawyers for Trump said it has proven a “practical impossibility” for Trump to secure a bond from any financial institutions in the state, as “about 30 surety companies” have refused to accept assets including real estate as collateral and have demanded cash and other liquid assets instead.

To get the institutions to agree to cover that $464 million judgment if Trump loses his appeal and fails to pay the state, he would have to pledge more than $550 million as collateral—“a sum he simply does not have,” reportedThe New York Times, despite his frequent boasting of his wealth and business prowess.

  • TipRing@lemmy.world
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    8 months ago

    Why would he need to raise the money? He told the court he had $500M in liquid assets.

    Could it be that he was being untruthful in his statement to the court? I think there is a word for that.

    • dhork@lemmy.world
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      He testified to $400M, and he already put up a $100M bond for the other thing. But the whole point of this is that he overvalues things, right? I bet when his people had to get down to the actual state of the accounts and not what DJT feels they are, it was probably only $200M or so that is liquid.

      It’s not worth going after him again for overstating that in court. It’s too easy to skirt around. His punishment will come when the DA starts seizing and auctioning stuff to pay the judgement.

      • ripcord@lemmy.world
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        He put up I believe $2m for the other thing. The rest was covered by the bond company.

        So he should still have at least $398m if he claimed 400…

        • dhork@lemmy.world
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          That’s not quite how it works. When the bond company writes the bond, they don’t just take the $2m from the client and then the client is off the hook. They ask the client to put up collateral. So in order for Trump to secure this bond, he would have had to set aside the full amount of the bond and say “If the verdict doesn’t get reduced on appeal, I am giving you all this stuff, and not using it for anything else in the meantime”.

          All Trump is getting for that fee is not actually having to sell those assets now, and have any overage refunded if the appeal gets the verdict reduced. (Given the interest rates right now, the passive income on that kind of cash is not trivial).

          • ripcord@lemmy.world
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            True, but we were talking only about liquid assets here, I thought. Otherwise, what would the $400m you mentioned be referring to? Or - what specifically did you mean and do you have a source by any chance?

            • dhork@lemmy.world
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              8 months ago

              A source for which part?

              I’ve read some different things about what those bond companies will take as collateral. They are not likely to take on real estate as collateral. Not only is it a pain to unload, but the properties also likely have existing liens on them, reducing the value that can be recovered. The bond companies are well within their rights to say that they will only accept cash or marketable securities as collateral.

              • JasonDJ@lemmy.zip
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                With how much Trump is known to fuck contractors I wouldn’t be surprised if the liens are more valuable than the properties themselves.

                And it’s the fucking contractors that vote for him ffs.

    • hglman@lemmy.ml
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      8 months ago

      I suspect that trump life is over if he fails to win in November, he will either take it himself or it will be effectively over bc he will be in jail and penny less. To that end he does not care about consequences of some extra crimes in the near term.

      • Tyfud@lemmy.world
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        He’s a serial narcissist. Maybe one of the worst in the current world.

        No way does he take his own life. That would require having empathy, which he absolutely does not have.

        No. trump won’t take his own life. He’s not committed to any cause like someone like Hitler, nor does he feel backed into a corner.

        What he’ll do instead is pander/cater to his unhinged base and con them out of what little money they have left.

        That’s all after he pillages the coffers of the RNC for what he can use there to pay for his legal fees/woes.

        It’s possible, and I don’t want to hope for too much here, but it’s possible, that trump maybe legit takes down most of the RNC/republicans if he fails to win in November.

        If he wins though, I think we’re all pretty fucked. He’ll use tax money to pay for that judgement or some shit. He has no morals, ethics, or shame.

        • Schadrach@lemmy.sdf.org
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          He’ll use tax money to pay for that judgement or some shit.

          Can’t do that. President doesn’t control the purse, both revenues and budget come from Congress. He’d have to get Congress to include paying his legal fees in the budget and manage to pass that budget. Then he could pay for the judgement with tax money.

          You know that whole “fiscal cliff” thing that keeps happening? That’s a consequence of this - Congress assigns a maximum amount of debt that the President can issue bonds until it is reached to pay for things in the budget (issuing bonds is technically a power of Congress, but they delegate it up to a set value via legislation so that they don’t have to bother). Congress also assigns how much money will be spent on each thing (aka the budget). When the President is required to spend more by the budget than there is in tax revenue plus bonds he is allowed to issue, that’s the fiscal cliff. It’s literally a problem that Congress creates (by creating a budget that spends more than is available in taxes and bonds), that only Congress can fix (typically by raising the amount the President can issue in bonds), but that usually gets blamed on the President.

          • Tyfud@lemmy.world
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            That’s good to know, thank you for the detailed explanation.

            I’m still concerned he’ll do it, and his sycophant supporters will enable him and let him do it because they see this as him being politically persecuted. You’re probably right, but if trump wins, nothing is normal, there is no rule of law.

            Can’t do that. President doesn’t control the purse

            And we’ll see how well that statement holds up when it runs up against a candidate who’s already been impeached twice, is overleveraged and compromised from foreign assets, who’s ON RECORD HAVING SAID HE’D BE A DICTATOR WITH ALL THE POWERS OF A DICTATOR FOR THE FIRST FEW DAYS HE WAS IN OFFICE IN HIS SECOND TERM.

            That’s how dictatorships start, they ask for the powers for just a few, just a little bit, and then it never gets returned.

            So I have low confidence that anything we consider rule of law today will be in effect if trump should win a second term, with all the insane support he’s got within the GOP right now that currently controls the lower house.

    • EatATaco@lemm.ee
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      8 months ago

      I thought he had claimed he didn’t? Do you know where I can find this information?

        • NotMyOldRedditName@lemmy.world
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          That’s still not enough.

          Also giving up ALL your cash is a bad idea, you’d want to do that as a mix of cash and other assets, so he’d still need someone willing to use those as collateral.

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            We wouldn’t give it up, he woild just use some of it as collateral for his bond. He gives insurance company $40,000,000 and they pay the full amount, or whatever they negotiate.

            He doesn’t have enough cash for the down payment for his loan essentially.

            • michaelmrose@lemmy.world
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              This isn’t bail with a small risk of loss paid for by the guaranteed loss of 10% to the bondsman. This is 99% Chance of loss on a settled case with the reasonable expectation that Trump would fight collection tooth and nail, try to pay less than face via bankruptcy etc. It’s a risk of hundreds of millions of dollars that would take YEARS to settle. Years in which lenders could be earning returns if that money was invested elsewhere. 30 institutions said no.

              He needs to secure the loan with cash or cash equivalents for the whole shebang. Nobody wants properties which he has already borrowed against even if the net of value and loan are positive to the tune of hundreds of millions its risky and challenging to sell. He should have started mortgaging when the judge told him he’d lost and they were only determining the scope of the loss so he could have obtained favorable terms.

            • NotMyOldRedditName@lemmy.world
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              He has to put up 550 million.

              If he locks up 400 million (all his cash) he has no cash until this is over with and he gets it back and he can then sell assets if needed to cover it.

              That’s not a good financial move for anyone.

              No one wants to use any of his asset collateral because he’s lied about its worth so he has to use his cash.

              Edit: to clarify, no one wants to risk 500 million if he gives them 50 because they don’t think they can get the 500 back from him if he tries to back out of it.

              • Tyfud@lemmy.world
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                Again, as mentioned, whether it’s a good financial move or not, doesn’t really matter if he doesn’t have the capital to flex beyond meeting the requirements.

                It’s a legal judgement. It might force him to do things that are not good financial moves. That’s tough shit in life for the rest of us too. The thing here is that trump’s never been held accountable, legally, for any of the crimes he’s committed before. This is what happens when one of the oligarchs falls off their throne and gets treated like the rest of us.

                Of course, to him, he feels like this is unfair, because he’s never been made accountable. But this is just a fucking Tuesday for the 330+Million rest of us.

                • NotMyOldRedditName@lemmy.world
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                  Just to be clear - I’m in no way shape or form supporting Trump. I’m just pointing out using all your cash, in any circumstance, is not a good idea. He has to solve his own problem even if it’s a bad situation

          • Tyfud@lemmy.world
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            You don’t have the option of looking at a court judgement like an investment opportunity. This is a legal judgement. You don’t get to “hold onto cash” just because not having it would risk exposure or something.

            You do this, or they start selling your assets off for an unflattering amount of money, and/or you can go to jail, or have all of the things you owned possessed and auctioned off to pay for the judgement.

            The thing you don’t get to do is not pay.

            • NotMyOldRedditName@lemmy.world
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              This isn’t about him paying his legal bill, it’s about a bond to appeal.

              Using all your cash to appeal is a bad idea for ANYONE

              if you lose the appeal, you can then decide on your cash and asset mix to pay it off.

              Edit: think about it this way. If you can put up asset collateral on a appeal that’ll take a year, that’s a whole year you could be earning interest on the cash and have cash for an emergency. Maybe you go half and half so you don’t risk as much of the other assets. Leaving yourself with no cash is just bad. He’s in a really bad situation so maybe he only has bad options, but that doesn’t mean it’s not bad.

    • leaky_shower_thought@feddit.nl
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      Could it be that he was being untruthful in his statement to the court? I think there is a word for that.

      cnn: (from yesterday news) “told fictional stories”

        • Tyfud@lemmy.world
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          Yeah, everyone’s scared of using the L-word because of the legal liabilities involved. And if I was the editor, I would 100% assume trump would attempt to fucking sue my paper for libel if I say anything that gives him an inch.

          So that’s probably why everyone’s scared of saying “Lied”, because trump can, will, and has sued people for things like that.

  • givesomefucks@lemmy.world
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    I’ll believe it when it happens.

    Last time he had one lined up but up until the last second said it was impossible. Likely to maximize donations from his rubes.

        • Rapidcreek@lemmy.world
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          8 months ago

          Not a racial stereotype. If you ever watch her press conferences you’d know that’s the way she is. A smart hard ass prosecutor who has no problem taking on Trump or the NRA. I’d hate to be in her cross hair.

          • givesomefucks@lemmy.world
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            Well, you could insist your racism is ok, because reasons…

            If you were being honest you could easily provide one of those many videos you claim exist.

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              I’m confused? Is there a stereotype that all black women wear pearls and flip their hair when they talk? If you told me that was a stereotype of any race I would actually guess white but I kind of thought that was just something that women with a certain personality did, regardless of race.

              It sounds like you read their comment and visualized something racist in your own mind. Maybe the call is coming from inside the house?

              • bean@lemmy.world
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                Yeah in my head I was thinking a white Karen tbh. Am I racist because I picked white? Or not racist because I didn’t choose black? Maybe it had NOTHING TO DO with skin color, until that dude brought it up. 🙄

              • givesomefucks@lemmy.world
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                By all means, you can provide a link of her actually acting/talking like that too.

                That other account sure as shit doesn’t want to.

                But most people could find a better use of their time than defending racism online, you do you tho I guess…

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                  I don’t know much about her and I don’t watch her press conferences. I’m not defending anyone, your comment has just genuinely confused me because I’ve never heard of this stereotype in my 33 years on earth, living in a racist state in a racist country.

                  I’m just asking how a hair flip and pearls is racist? Can you explain that?

            • KillingAndKindess
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              This person is a full time time-waster of some variety. Almost double the comments in a half a year than my entire 8 year reddit account had.

              Sorry you’re being economically pressured to sit in a troll farm, gotta be a rough situation.

            • Empricorn@feddit.nl
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              Just take the loss, damn. Who doubles down like this when they’re proven wrong!?

              • givesomefucks@lemmy.world
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                Who doubles down like this when they’re proven wrong!?

                If someone provided the video of her acting like that, I didn’t see it because at some point I’ve blocked them.

                You can link one for other people, if you can actually manage to find it. But I’m not going to see any of your comments anymore either.

                • Cosmicomical@lemmy.world
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                  If you are interested you can go and find one, it’s not going to be difficult. We are not here to bring you stuff. What a level of entitlement, sir (or ma’am).

              • givesomefucks@lemmy.world
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                Well, it doesn’t have what every kept saying it would have.

                But thanks for being the only one to actually link a video.

    • bean@lemmy.world
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      Re: Donations, I saw this today. So it may not be that easy (ha!!).

      Behind Trump’s campaign cash crunch: Small-dollar donor fatigue, major donor hesitation

      KEY POINTS

      • Former President Donald Trump is facing two major fundraising problems: a shortage of big money interest and a drop in small-dollar donor support.
      • The decline in small-dollar contributors could be a significant obstacle, as the former president seeks to cobble together a 2024 war chest.
      • Small-dollar donors are critical to Trump’s ability to raise enough money to fund his presidential campaign.
  • nilloc@discuss.tchncs.de
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    If you owe the bank half a billion dollars, it’s the bank’s problem right?

    Sounds like the banks don’t want this problem.

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    Wait, how in the world could this have been a 5000-page filing? Is the entire text of War and Peace included 3 times in an appendix?

    • Sabin10@lemmy.world
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      The point is to make the case difficult and time consuming, hoping to cause a delay. One common method I have seen is to print every email in an email chain. The efficient way would be to print the last email in a 30 reply long chain and have it make up about 5 pages of the filing. Instead of doing that though, you can print every email in the chain and turn it in to 50+ pages pretty easily. Trump does not want this case to be handled efficiently and having a 5000+ lage filing, full of repeated and unnecessary information is one way to make that happen.

    • krellor@fedia.io
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      Maybe it included documents or correspondence from each of the 30 attempts? That would still be absurdly long at over 150 pages of documentation per attempt. But I could see them trying to make a point through the sheer volume of pages.

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      Exhibits attached to motions consisting of rejection letters, loan and credit applications, attachments to each of those … it’s not out of the realm of possibility.

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    I wouldn’t normally put this much stock in his assets actually getting flipped, but…

    Someone or some company signed me up for Trump fundraising emails recently. The subject line of one from 2(?) days ago read: HANDS OFF TRUMP TOWER, so it sounds like they’re preparing some kind of mobilization/campaign to play the victim now that their options are quickly drying up.

    • makyo@lemmy.world
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      I think I’d actually welcome that tactic from the Trump campaign. The base aren’t going to change their mind no matter what they hear but I’d be willing to bet a good portion of swing voters will hear about Trump losing his tower and realize that hey, maybe he’s actually not a great businessman. It makes him look weak when the only tactic that really works for him is the strongman one.

    • jballs@sh.itjust.works
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      8 months ago

      it sounds like they’re preparing some kind of mobilization/campaign to play the victim now that their options are quickly drying up.

      Not disagreeing with you, but just wanted to point out that’s kind of their thing already.

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      Letitia James did say she had her eye on that building in particular, so of course they want to keep it out of her hands.

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    Remember he testified that he had that kind of liquidity several times. He is absolutely fucked.

  • Alien Nathan Edward@lemm.ee
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    “about 30 surety companies” have refused to accept assets

    well yeah they’re lending him money to pay off a court judgment against him for lying about what those assets are worth. I wouldn’t lend someone money if their collateral was worth anywhere from 10%-1000% of what I lent them and there was no way for me to verify either. Besides, you know if he owes you money it’s gonna be years and millions before you can recoup anything at all.

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    …nearly 5,000-page filing…

    Really? They generated more content than the entire Harry Potter series to say “He can’t get the money.”

    Sounds like they’re trying to get their own $464M out of the deal.

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        Odds are there are charts, graphs, and other items that are inconsequential to the overall argument. Also could include the full rejection letters.

        • mosiacmango@lemm.ee
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          Yeah I would guess its all of the submitted documents back and forth 30 times. Even just 150 pages each would net 5000 pages.

    • ChonkyOwlbear@lemmy.world
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      Better yet, take Mar a Lago. It’s his house but because he has to cheat at everything, he has it registered as a business for zoning reasons IIRC. On top of that, he says it’s worth hundreds of millions where in reality it’s only valued for $30 mil at most. He might actually have a stroke.

  • tsonfeir@lemm.ee
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    They’re gonna take some of his properties and find lots of other crimes in those closets.

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        A FORMER President, or what we also call a private citizen. If you’re thinking that you’re buying a President with a 500 mil bond, then you’re betting on him winning against the guy he lost against last time, which feels like as good a bet as taking Trump’s claims of what his properties are worth at face value.

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      It’s probably going to be one of those things where he keeps insisting that whatever property comes with the Trump brand, despite this adding negative value.

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      No, no, you’d want to name it for a black civil rights activist from the 60s who never rose to national prominence but is from NYC, that way his tower is named after someone who’s both black and he wouldn’t think was important enough even if he were white.