Trump’s failure to secure a bond could put his New York properties on the chopping block
CNN
Donald Trump doesn’t have the cash he needs to stop the state of New York from seizing his assets. But he’s asking the court, an institution he’s shown little but contempt for up to now, for a bit of mercy.
Former President Donald Trump doesn’t have the cash he needs to stop the state of New York from potentially seizing his assets. He’s asking the court — an institution he’s shown little but contempt for — for a bit of mercy. In a court filing Monday, Trump’s lawyers laid out the stark economic reality facing the leading Republican candidate for president. His team spent “countless hours” negotiating with some 30 entities that could finance the roughly half-a-billion-dollar bond he’s on the hook for. But none would take the deal. If Trump doesn’t pony up the $500 million or so he needs to set aside, pending his appeal of last month’s order against him for ill-gotten gains on his properties, Judge Arthur Engoron says the judgment may be enforced, and New York Attorney General Letitia James can start seizing Trump’s properties and selling them to pay down what he owes. Trump’s lawyers, for their part, say the ruling is unprecedented and underwriters don’t write checks that big — even to billionaires. But if we take Trump’s lawyers at their word, that is a damning admission of a potentially serious financial dilemma for a leader who spent his career building the Trump brand as one of a savvy real estate mogul with extensive access to capital. James has made it clear she won’t hesitate to go after Trump’s properties if he doesn’t come up with the cash.