Former attorney Michael Cohen, who once served as personal counsel to Donald Trump, has anticipated that the ex-president will need to “begin selling off” his possessions. These remarks surfaced following a court ruling in Trump’s New York civil fraud case, where the judge mandated him to pay a $355 million fine.
Judge Arthur Engoron ordered Trump to pay $355 million in damages after ruling the Trump Organization committed widespread fraud. Moreover, additional fines were also levied against Trump’s sons, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump.
Judge Arthur Engoron resolved one of the central claims in James’ lawsuit that Trump had provided “false and misleading” statements inflating the value of his properties and assets by billions of dollars to obtain financial benefits and better loans.
Speaking to MSNBC host Ali Velshi, Cohen pondered Trump’s options, questioning, “What else is he supposed to do now?” He emphasized the magnitude of the financial burden, citing a judgment exceeding $500 million, excluding an additional $88.6 million owed to E. Jean Carroll. “It’s an immense sum,” Cohen stressed, “and he lacks the funds.”
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According to The New York Times, The sum that Trump owes will increase to more than $400 million with interest. The newspaper reported that the “penalty of nearly $355 million plus interest” could “wipe out his entire stockpile of cash.”
This report corroborates Cohen’s recent predictions, aligning with a trend of legal setbacks for the former president. In a separate case last month, a New York jury ruled against Trump, compelling him to pay $83.3 million in damages to columnist E. Jean Carroll for defamation.
Dismissing claims to the contrary, Cohen asserted, “I don’t care what anybody wants to write in any newspaper, regardless of what their credentials may be, unless [Trump’s] going to show you that his bank account has more than a half a million, he doesn’t have $400 million of cash on hand” Cohen emphasized, adding, “He doesn’t have it, They’re going to have to start liquidating assets.”
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Cohen went on to say on CNN’s This Morning:
“If you’re Vladimir Putin, I tell you how Vladimir Putin is probably looking at Donald Trump right now. That Trump is a poor man’s idea of a rich man, a weak man’s idea of a strong man, and a stupid man’s idea of a smart man.”
“So as a KGB, former KGB expert, he’s looking at Donald and saying, ‘What can we do to help, to help him to get away from these various things?’ Well, one you can’t fix, stupid. So that is what it is. You just take advantage of it,” he added.
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“All right, as far as the … poor man and a rich man, we’ll figure out how to put some money in his pocket because that’s all Donald Trump cares about.”
In response, Trump has expressed intentions to appeal the ruling, exhibiting confidence in his chances of success. In a statement after the verdict, Trump said the “widespread, radical attack” has “devolved to New un-American depths” and is planning to appeal.