Donald Trump’s legal debts might now exceed a half-billion dollars

A New York judge ordered Trump and his companies Friday to pay $355 million in fines, plus interest, after ruling that he had manipulated his net worth in financial statements.

The stiff penalty comes just weeks after Trump was ordered to pay $83.3 million to the writer E. Jean Carroll for damaging her reputation after she accused him of sexual assault. A separate jury last year awarded Carroll $5 million from Trump for sexual abuse and defamation.

Add interest payments on top of that and the judgments could deal a staggering blow to the personal fortune that remains core to Trump’s political appeal. He has adamantly denied wrongdoing and pledged to appeal, a process that could take months or even years.

In the meantime, here’s what we know about what Trump owes, whether he’ll have to pay up, and what comes next:

  • dhork@lemmy.world
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    9 months ago

    Political funds can’t be used to pay these fines.

    Why not? Do you mean it’s illegal? Do you think that will stop him?

    • Varyk@sh.itjust.works
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      9 months ago

      I mean that since political contributions cannot be used for these fees specifically, campaign funds won’t be accepted by the courts to pay these fines, if that’s what you mean.

      • girlfreddy@lemmy.ca
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        9 months ago

        You’re right about campaign funds not being used, but Super PAC funds can and likely will be used … because the GOP’s adherents are a shill for mango-face.

        • Varyk@sh.itjust.works
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          9 months ago

          That’s true, however, the total funds including PACs of his first term were less than his 350 million fee, so he wouldn’t have been able to run for president at all in 2016 if these fees were around then, and even in 2020 when they went up to 750 million, a historical amount of presidential campaign funds, especially for a piece of s***, if you subtract the 530 million dollars he owes, it’s a very significant amount.

        • BakerBagel@midwest.social
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          9 months ago

          Let his Super PAC pay. It’s been gobbling up so much money that GOP organizations across the country are going broke. Trump’s legal expenses are sucking all the money from the GOP and they are ginna struggle to run effective campaigns in key races this year.

      • dhork@lemmy.world
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        9 months ago

        But these guys are good at obfuscation where the money comes from. Look at the trail you have to follow with the Stormy Daniels thing, they pull shit like that all the time.

        I am confident that Trump will come up with the cash to pay the full judgement when he has to, and if the court asks for details on how he came up with it, there will be documentation that looks totally legit. It would take another three-year investigation to establish who really paid for what.

        His ability to do this is diminished by the court receiver monitoring his NY businesses, of course, but he has no doubt established new money-laundering machinery in Florida. Heck, the Governor might be in on that, too.

        • Varyk@sh.itjust.works
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          9 months ago

          He’s already paid the $5 million ruling for raping e jean Carroll, and is still on the hook for defamation and now business fraud, but there’s no difference in his liability for any of these three cases.

          He’s already paid one, he should pay the rest.