Mastodawn

Nonilex Mar 7, 2024

The danger posed to #Trump’s #finances by 2 recent judgments against him has been, if anything, underappreciated. The size of the awards, the structure of his business empire, & the condition of the #RealEstate #market combine to create a truly perilous moment for #TrumpOrganization &, by extension, for Trump’s personal finances.

#law #civil #fraud #defamation #SexualAssault #liability #accountability #JustDeserts
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2024/03/trump-financial-legal-troubles/677662/

Trump Is Facing Some Serious Financial Troubles

His political fortunes may be looking up, but his business problems are dire.

The Atlantic

Nonilex Mar 7, 2024

#Trump must put up the $83.3M awarded to the writer #EJeanCarroll for #defamation by Mar 9. He also owes >$450M—the amt continues to grow bc of interest—in the #fraud case…&must put up #cash or post a #bond by Mar 25…
Trump doesn’t have that money on hand. In an Apr 2023 depo…,Trump bragged,“We have a lot of cash. I believe we have substantially in excess of $400M in cash,which is a lot for a developer. Developers usually don’t have cash….We have…$400M+ & going up very substantially every month”

If this was true at the time, which is doubtful, it is not true now. On Feb 28, he asked an appellate court to reduce the #bond amount in the #fraud case to $100M, & said he might have to #sell properties otherwise. The court declined to lower the bond, but did temporarily stay the ruling by the trial judge, Arthur #Engoron, that #Trump couldn’t seek #loans from #banks.

#law #civil #defamation #SexualAssault #liability #accountability #JustDeserts

Nonilex Mar 7, 2024

Even b4 the formal finding that many of the #TrumpOrganization’s #property valuations were fabricated, pinning down anything definitive about the firm’s #finances has always been challenging. Bc it is a privately held company, much info about it is secret. #Trump’s name has always been synonymous w/(to be charitable) puffery & hyperbole. Independent assessments place his networth in the billions, but as he suggested in the depo, that’s largely in real property or in hazy estimates of brandvalue.

Nonilex Mar 7, 2024

Typically, a defendant who has substantial #assets but needs piles of #cash will obtain a #bond, rather than posting the #money themselves. Under such an arrangement, a bonding company effectively vouches for #Trump w/the court, guaranteeing that the money is available. If Trump wins his #appeal, he pays the bonding company only a fee. If he loses, he has to pay in full. But Trump seems to be struggling to obtain such a bond.

#law #fraud #defamation #SexualAssault #accountability #JustDeserts

Nonilex Mar 7, 2024

In requesting that the amt be reduced, his attys said coming up w/the current total would be “impossible,” forcing him to sell properties.
Bonding cos might hesitate to work w/Trump for various reasons. The size of the #bond …is substantial. #Trump also has a reputation for stiffing vendors, & recouping any amt might only get more challenging if Trump is reelected president & tries to [ab]use his office to put off collection, as he previously tried to use it to #delay or avoid #litigation.

Nonilex Mar 7, 2024

A willing bonding co would likely demand that #Trump post collateral, & that’s where he’d run into more trouble. Trump does possess lots of assets, but the question is whether he owns them outright. He has resisted detailed #disclosures that would answer that, but given his past practices—Trump once dubbed himself the “King of Debt”—experts told me they expect he has few big properties that don’t carry significant #debt.

[another reason he shouldn’t be #POTUS: who exactly is he indebted to?]

Nonilex Mar 7, 2024

Such existing #loans likely include covenants that prevent owners from subordinating them to other liens—which would effectively reduce how much #Trump can use the properties as collateral, says Jim Wheaton, a #law prof at William&Mary who has studied Trump’s #finances. In simple terms, if a building is worth $50M, & $30M of that is subject to another #loan, the covenant means the other $20M isn’t free & clear to use as #collateral.

#fraud #defamation #SexualAssault #accountability #JustDeserts

Nonilex Mar 7, 2024

The ruling allows #Trump to seek #loans elsewhere, but he has exhausted nearly every traditional ave…. #Deutsche, now notorious for its sloppy practices, was his “lender of last resort,”…but the NYAG’s lawsuit revealed the #bank ended its relationship w/him. That makes it unclear who else might be willing to make a loan to Trump—but one possibility is a wealthy individual, #foreign or domestic, might see making a large loan to a potential future #POTUS as a way to exert #influence over him.

Nonilex Mar 7, 2024

…Some coverage has suggested that a deal involving #Trump’s social-media company, Truth Social, could provide him an infusion of #cash, but the practical size of that windfall may be overstated. Major shareholders are subject to a provision that prevents large sales of stocks for 6 months, though Trump could seek a waiver allowing him to sell more sooner.

#law #civil #fraud #defamation #SexualAssault #liability #accountability #JustDeserts

Nonilex Mar 7, 2024

[Re appeals:]

He has insisted that he didn’t commit any #crime when he manipulated valuations, bc his lenders were repaid in full & didn’t object. But the statute under which James sued #Trump doesn’t require loss. Trump has complained that the #law …is “rarely used” & “VERY UNFAIR,” but attys familiar w/the #NYAG’s office said the law is deployed routinely, & has never suffered constitutional challenge. In fact, Trump was successfully sued for the #TrumpUniversity #fraud under the same law.

RalfMaximus Mar 7, 2024

As far as lending institutions go, Sberbank comes to mind.

They would've been a partner on Trump Tower Moscow had that project proceeded.

Dawn Adill Pickle Mar 7, 2024

@Nonilex Yes, it means get in line….and this line is very, very long. He can always sell and cash out to get what he needs, but then the entire cross leveraged house of cards which is Trump Org falls.

Side note: I really only love discussing economics when it applies to the downfall of lying grifter rapist insurrectionist racist homophobe misogynists!

Nihl L'Amas Mar 7, 2024

@Nonilex And a 40% stake in a joint venture is NOT worth 40% of the total value on the market.

Ariaflame Mar 7, 2024

@Nonilex I wouldn't loan Trump a brass farthing.

Pusher Of Pixels (old account)Mar 7, 2024

@Nonilex may want to rephrase this. I initially thought it was a list of things his attys said.

Which would be amazeballs if they said "he could abuse is office in the future so ease up"

Nonilex Mar 7, 2024

@pixelpusher220 you can’t tell in the toot’s display, but the sentence starting “bonding cos …” is the start of a new paragraph.