Former President Donald Trump could find out Monday how New York state aims to collect over $457 million he owes in his civil business fraud case, even as he appeals the verdict that led to the gargantuan sum.
“It was a crooked number. There are no victims, there is no number, the number should be zero. My father runs a great company, I run a great company,” the former president’s son Eric Trump, executive vice president of the Trump Organization, said on Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures. “They’re trying to deprive them of this cash, they want to bankrupt him. They want to hurt him so badly. And it’s going to backfire because he’s going to win this in November.”
The GOP’s presumptive presidential nominee claimed on Friday to have almost a half-billion dollars in cash but said he’d rather spend it on his presidential run than on the $454 million civil fraud judgment against him in New York. The former president vowed to fight the verdict “all the way up to the U.S. Supreme Court if necessary” as the state gears up to potentially seize some of his assets if he doesn’t pay the hefty tab.
Former President Trump has been trying to get a state appeals court to excuse him from a requirement that he provide financial guarantees showing he’s good for the money while he appeals the staggering verdict.
The ex-president didn’t provide any documentation for his cash claim, and his lawyers have suggested it’s not feasible to tie up so much cash on a bond while also keeping his businesses running and meeting other obligations; among them, according to financial records, a condition on one of his property loans that he maintain a minimum liquidity of $30 million.
“We’re waiting for the appellate division. And I hope the appellate division comes back with something that’s very sensible,” Eric Trump said on Sunday. “But we’ve offered [to pay part of the penalty]. We’ve tried to be very reasonable and we’re gonna win this entire case because the entire case is crazy.”
A Manhattan judge in February found that the former president repeatedly lied about his wealth on financial statements given to banks and others to secure loans and make deals. The judge ordered him to give up profits from certain real estate deals and money he saved by obtaining lower interest rates on loans. The GOP’s presumptive nominee has denied any wrongdoing.
As recently as Thursday, former President Trump’s lawyers reiterated in court filings that they were having difficulty obtaining a bond covering the judgment because underwriters insisted on cash, stocks or other liquid assets instead of real estate as collateral. More than 30 bonding companies rejected their entreaties, they said.
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