As of: March 18, 2024, 5:37 p.m
By: Florian Naumann
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Donald Trump's financial downfall may be imminent.
At least that's how ex-lawyer Michael Cohen sees it.
New documents fuel the rumors.
Update from March 18th, 5:07 p.m.:
A former confidant had recently seen Donald Trump on the verge of financial ruin (
see message below
) - a statement from Trump's lawyers could now support this thesis.
A court filing quoted by
Newsweek
said: Raising a $464 million fine from a verdict in the fraud case against the Trump Organization would be a “practical impossibility.”
Although they “combed” the market, they were not successful in “obtaining security.”
The “simple reason” is that it is simply impossible to receive such an amount “under the circumstances”.
Trump's legal team now apparently requested that the payment be suspended pending the outcome of an appeal process.
In the USA it is common practice for such fines to be paid first in order to be able to appeal.
This serves as security in the event that the defendant goes bankrupt during the appeal process - and as leverage to avoid a legal game of time.
According to the report, Trump's lawyers had previously asked whether it would be possible to initially pay $100 million of the fine to allow for an appeal.
On the one hand, these numbers show that Trump is still unquestionably part of the richest - despite his accusations against “elites” in the USA.
On the other hand, it can be speculated that a final fine of several hundred million dollars could mean ruin for the ex-president.
The trial in question revolves around the question of whether Trump had the value of his “organization” artificially inflated, for example in order to obtain cheaper loans.
Trump at the end?
“We will see him lose everything”
First report:
Washington, DC – Donald Trump's countless lawsuits have so far had little impact on his election campaign and poll numbers.
Things could look different with the property and bank balance of the designated Republican presidential candidate - at least according to the assessment of a former confidant: Trump's former legal advisor Michael Cohen sees the ex-president on the financial brink.
Trump will lose “most of his money,” Cohen recently said in his podcast “Mea Culpa,” as the US portal
Newsweek
reported on Saturday (March 16).
“I think we’re going to see him lose everything,” the lawyer said.
“He’s already lost his mind and most of his money.”
Trump's high court bill: "Millions" for legal fees alone?
With a view to previous judges' rulings in civil cases, Cohen spoke of "millions and millions in legal fees alone" at the expense of Donald Trump.
The ex-president's property is already in full debt.
The reason for Cohen's theses is likely to be, among other things, the judgments in the legal disputes with the US author E. Jean Carroll and on the activities of the Trump Organization.
This potentially involves hundreds of millions of dollars.
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Donald Trump is under pressure.
(Archive photo) © MANDEL NGAN/AFP
Cohen is no stranger: The 58-year-old lawyer advised Trump, among other things, in the 2016 US presidential election.
In this role, he is said to have been involved in keeping allegations and reports of Trump's assaults against several women out of the public eye.
In 2018, Cohen himself was targeted by the judiciary and pleaded guilty to, among other things, illegal campaign financing and tax fraud.
He later made allegations against Trump himself - and in 2023 received an enormous demand from the ex-president.
Trump loses millions of dollars in lawsuits – 450 million verdict on Trump Organization
The background to Cohen's statements: After losing his libel case against Carroll, Trump deposited more than $90 million in bail with the court - but he also appealed, as the
dpa
reported.
A New York jury had found it proven that Trump attacked Carroll in a New York luxury department store in 1996, sexually abused him and later slandered him.
Most recently, Trump risked another lawsuit in the case through his comments.
Trump was also recently found guilty in a fraud trial and has to raise more than $450 million.
This civil case was about the future of his corporate empire.
The court found it proven that Trump, his sons and employees had manipulated the value of the Trump Organization for years in order to obtain cheaper loans and insurance contracts.
The verdict tarnishes Trump's image as a successful businessman.
Trump's trials: A novelty is possible
There was never a threat of prison time or direct impact on Trump's bid for the presidency in the civil lawsuits.
However, the ex-president is currently involved in further proceedings.
Most recently, the start of a trial in connection with hush money payments to a porn star was confirmed by a judge on March 25th.
It would be the first criminal trial of a former president in US history.
Three further criminal trials are being prepared, including on allegations of attempted election manipulation.
Civil lawsuits are also ongoing.
(
fn with material from dpa
)