New York Attorney General Letitia James can target any of former President Donald Trump’s assets from “across the world” in order to pay the $454 million judgment he owes, according to lawyer Renee Zaytsev on Saturday.
In February, Judge Arthur Engoron ordered Trump to pay $355 million, plus interest, and barred him from doing business in New York for three years after finding him liable for financial fraud in September 2023 in a lawsuit brought on by James’ office. Trump, the presumed GOP presidential nominee in the 2024 election, has claimed that he has done nothing wrong and that the case is politically motivated against him. He has appealed Engoron’s judgment.
Meanwhile, the former president has until Monday to come up with a $454 million bond to stop James from seizing his assets in order to pay Engoron’s judgment.
MSNBC’s Katie Phang asked Zaytsev onThe Katie Phang Show on Saturday about what James could do if Trump can’t come up with the bond.
I live in New York. New York City is Donald Trump’s home town, and we’ve been watching him smear himself across the news since the 1980s.
Donald Trump lost New York City by 90% in 2016 and 2020, and people were literally dancing in the streets when he lost in 2020.
https://www.esquire.com/news-politics/a34607640/donald-trump-lose-election-new-york-celebration/
If a man is despised by his hometown, you’d think that would be a huge red flag for voters. Also the fact that a bunch of southern rednecks who despise city people and northerners, got behind a Manhattan real estate developer, and believe he’s one of them.
There are no red flags on the road towards fascism. It makes more sense when you realize his supporters love that he is hated.
Why can’t they get it through their worm-eaten brains that he wants to be loved by the Manhattan elite and that, deep down, he loathes them?
This is purely rhetorical venting, pay no mind
Spy magazine back in the late '80s and early '90s was basically an NYC magazine and they used to mercilessly rip on Trump. Every year they did a “Top 10 Worst People, Places or Things” list and he was always on it. One year, the only mitigating factors in his favor were his offer to pay for the funeral of a child killed by a bear (which he probably reneged on) and the fact that he didn’t run for office.
They also did a prank once where they sent checks for tiny amounts to millionaires to see who would cash them. Trump survived the first round by cashing a check (that he actually hand-endorsed) for something like $1.30, and he was one of two recipients to cash the last round of checks for 13 cents. Dude has been the exact same bit of trash for his entire life.
This article is trash, just like most of Newsweek these days. It quotes a single lawyer who says that the AG could seize any of Trump’s assets that she wants. That’s technically true, of course, but the AGs job is to recover the judgement, and she will go after the most liquid assets first. She would go after real estate only after his bank and investment accounts are seized, as a last resort. All of his real estate is likely already mortgaged up the wazoo (based on inflated values) and it will take a long time to sell, for very little gain compared to the amount of effort put in.
But the DA also has the benefit of a court-appointed monitor who has been running things there, and knows where the low-hanging fruit is. The DA has already put in paperwork in Westchester, where he has a few properties. She might have concluded that if she needs to start taking real estate, the stuff there has the highest actual value that can be realized if it is liquidated.
So it’s disingenuous to make it sound like Leticia James is going to move into Trump’s apartment at Trump Tower or Mar-A-Lago tomorrow.
I’ve heard that if there is a mortgage on a property and it is seized by the government that they don’t need to pay the mortgage. Supposedly the lender would have a new claim against for the remaining amount on the mortgage.
I don’t know if this is true, it is not from a verified source.
I’ve read that too, but I very much doubt it. It would screw over the lender big-time. In any other circumstance, they would get paid first on any sale of that property. Why should they get cut out if it gets seized? That leaves suing Trump directly as their only recourse. And in case you haven’t noticed, that all takes time and is very expensive. It seems wrong for the State to saddle Trump’s creditors with that.
Plus, it would effectively give more “credit” to the person whose property is being seized than they are due. If there is a $100M property that has $80M in liens, and he sells it on his own, he will only have $20M left. Why should that change if the State has to seize it and sell it? That would o ly give Trump incentive to force the State to take the properties: he would lose control of fewer properties that way.
The Guardian was reporting that mortgages take priority
They’re quoting Adam Leitman Bailey, a great real estate lawyer. His Wikipedia page is interesting, he was involved in some controversies, resulting in him not being allowed to do his work for 4 months.
In the article he comments about the Trump case. Which I find odd as lawyers usually stick to what they know.
A bit of an odd person that they’re quoting.
I just want her to start with Mar-a-Lago.
Been reading there’s too many complications (different state for one, more red tape) for the value. They’re going for the low-hanging fruit right off, liquid money like bank accounts, working their way up from there.
Been reading there’s too many complications (different state for one, more red tape) for the value. They’re going for the low-hanging fruit right off, liquid money like bank accounts, working their way up from there.
I think it would make sense to seize & sell assets in New York but I bet there are some really complicated ownership deals on his properties and some will be laden with lease agreements, debt, mortgages etc. They might see Mar-a-lago as having a clean ownership making it worth the effort of going after.
Is that legal? I mean, does she have the security clearance needed to repo that one?
It was on the list of properties she was considering so I assume so. I really don’t know why it wouldn’t be.
Cab drivers in New York City are now referring to Trump Tower as The Tish Mahal
If they sell his golf course maybe Ivana won’t have to keep having divots chunked outta her grave
