As of: March 9, 2024, 4:24 p.m
By: Tadhg Nagel
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Press
Split
Donald Trump loses another trial;
another fine is due.
In total he has to raise $540 million.
Is bankruptcy imminent?
Washington - Former US President Donald Trump has lost another court case.
He was once again ordered to pay a fine - £300,000 for the failed lawsuit against former British spy Christopher Steele.
An almost modest sum compared to the more than $540 million that the ex-president has had to raise in legal fees and court judgments in recent months.
But the mountain of debt could continue to rise.
Former US President Donald Trump needs money - cash and liquid assets are not enough to pay the fines.
© IMAGO/Megan Smith
The recently lost lawsuit was directed against the consulting firm Orbis Business Intelligence, which was founded by former British intelligence officer Christopher Steele.
In 2016, they allegedly published a 35-page document that threatened to put Trump in trouble: the Steele dossier.
The highly explosive publication is about the former president's relations with Vladimir Putin's Russia.
Accordingly, the Kremlin is said to have supported Trump for five years and helped build him up.
In return for influencing the election campaign, the then US presidential candidate is said to have made political concessions for his time in office.
Another financial setback - but the £300,000 is the least of Trump's problems
Trump had always doubted the authenticity of the dossier and described it as “fake”.
He accused Orbis Intelligence of data protection violations and demanded compensation for serious damage to its reputation.
However, the company believed it was not responsible for the publication of the dossier, which
was posted online unedited by the
Buzzfeed platform.
In February, a London court dismissed the lawsuit because there were no “convincing reasons” for proceedings.
Trump had allowed too much time to pass since publication without attempting to “defend his reputation in British courts,” said the judge.
On February 7th he was finally ordered to pay the entire legal costs.
He now has to pay 300,000 pounds (around $385,740) for this - another financial setback for Trump.
Over the last year, the former president has amassed a hefty sum through legal fees and court judgments:
February 16, 2023:
New York Judge Arthur Engoron orders Trump and the companies he controls to pay $454.2 million in penalties and advance interest for fraudulently reporting the value of assets in financial reports.
Interest will continue to accrue on this amount daily until it is paid.
January 26, 2023:
A jury sentences Trump to pay $83.3 million in damages to writer E. Jean Carroll for defamation.
January 12, 2024:
Trump is ordered to pay nearly $400,000 in legal fees to The
New York Times
after a court dismissed his lawsuit challenging the newspaper's acquisition and publication of his tax records
May 9, 2023:
A different jury orders Trump to pay $5 million to Carroll in a separate trial in which he was convicted of sexual assault and defamation - but not rape.
January 19, 2023:
Trump and his lawyer Alina Habba are jointly ordered to pay $937,989 in sanctions over the former president's lawsuit against Hillary Clinton and other Democrats, which a judge said was "inadequate in almost every respect" and "of “was not supported by any legal authority”.
January 13, 2023:
The Trump Organization was ordered to pay $1.6 million after being found guilty of tax fraud
Trump has already paid small fines - when it comes to larger amounts, he is running out of time
While some of Trump's smaller fines have already been paid, the ex-president now faces the task of paying off his larger debts.
He must pay the fines in the Caroll case into a court-controlled account or post a bond that guarantees his ability to pay even if he appeals the verdicts.
This is what the US business magazine
Forbes
writes .
The 30-day deadline for paying the $83.3 million in Carroll's lawsuit expires Saturday.
That means Carroll could try to enforce the judgment if Trump doesn't pay by Monday (February 11).
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In addition, it is not clear what sums the former president will receive.
In particular, multiple lawsuits from lawmakers and Capitol Police officers jointly seeking to hold Trump liable for the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the Capitol could result in further penalties.
He has also been criminally charged four times in state and federal courts;
This could also result in high fines - or even a prison sentence if convicted.
Too little cash and liquid assets - Trump will have to find money somehow
Overall, Trump's estimated total net worth is around $2.6 billion.
Still, according to Forbes
estimates, he
currently only has $413 million in cash and liquid assets.
That amount is not enough to cover the entire amount he owes in the Carroll and fraud cases.
It remains to be seen how Trump will pay the fines or secure a guarantee for his debts, the magazine said.
It is possible to take out loans or sell your real estate, as well as get help from wealthy friends or take out loans from financial institutions.
In addition to the fines, there are also significant fees that the ex-president has accumulated due to his ongoing legal disputes;
his lawyers have demanded millions of dollars for his defense.
Federal Election Commission filings show he paid nearly $40 million between his first indictment on March 30, 2023 and the end of last year alone.
But that money came primarily from Trump's Save America Political Action Committee, a campaign lobbying group.
However, this is actually campaign money, which Trump has already been criticized for using - so probably not the best option for paying off the outstanding sums.
(tpn)