Lisa Rubin, MSNBC Legal Correspondent, talked to Alex Wagner after Judge Engoron’s verdict and January verdict that ordered Trump to pay $83.3 million to E. Jean Carroll.
Trump is trying to “delay the reckoning”
Former President Trump’s attorneys asked the Judge to postpone enforcement of a $355 million fine, plus interest, which the host blasted as Trump of trying to “delay the reckoning.” That means putting down the “entire $450 million” as a bond. Every day he fails to do so, it will cost him an additional $87,502 in interest.
Judge’s brief explanation
Wagner reminded of Judge Engoron’s brief explanation sent to Trump’s attorney, Clifford S. Robert. It read, “You have failed to explain, much less justify, any basis for a stay.” Lisa Rubin joined the conversation and spoke about the Judge’s email. She stated that he is very tolerant until he’s not.”
The Judge is “done”
Rubin told an anecdote: “A colleague wrote me a text saying, ‘He’s done,'” while referring to the New York Judge’s latest ruling. To that, she responded that the Judge was “done” in November. Following the verdict, Trump lashed out, calling it “unAmerican judgment against me, my family, and my tremendous business.”
The clock is ticking
Wagner asked, “If Trump can’t find someone to give him a cool half a billion, what is the next practical step?” Rubin said hypothetically that if Trump does not post the bond, “Laetitia James has to start steps to what’s called executing on the judgment.” James can seize Trump’s personal property or by “trying to seize bank accounts,” Rubin explained.
James is not Trump’s only creditor
While explaining the process, Rubin reminded that James is not Trump’s only creditor, adding that he has many and owes them millions, “even hundreds of millions of dollars.” The host showed a list of creditors and wanted to know if James’s next move could scare other creditors. She asked, “Could that be a domino effect? Rubin agreed and explained there are a lot of “complex” parts in this case involving Trump’s businesses, lenders, creditors, etc.
James’ move
Rubin noted that James has to find out which assets can “quickly and easily be liquated without other people in line already.” The legal analyst said, “It could also prompt him to file for personal bankruptcy because, again, in this order, Donald Trump and the business entities that were found liable are jointly and severally liable.”
No escape
“That means that any one of them can be liable for the whole of the judgment attributed to them, and that also means that Donald Trump can’t escape this just by plunging those business entities themselves into bankruptcy because that would leave him individually on the hook for the totality of it,” Rubin added.
The only way is “personal bankruptcy”
“The only way to escape it altogether would be to file for personal bankruptcy, which would place an automatic stay on further litigation, including judgment execution,” Rubin stated. She confirmed that Trump can no longer borrow from institutions in New York under the judgment, though that could be appealed.
Would the public know who borrowed the money?
After noting that Rachel Meadow previously said that the loan could reportedly come from another country, Wagner raised the question of whether the public would know who borrowed the money. Rubin answered, “I asked the Attorney General’s office early this week, ‘Would we know, as the public, who loans Trump this money to him? Would you even know, as the Attorney General’s office?’ And I believe the answer was, ‘We are not clear on that.'”
“National security” risk
Wagner called it a “national security” risk, given that Trump’s running for the highest position in the US, adding, “Foreign interference is a very real thing if you’re talking about Donald Trump.”
Habba confirmed the bond will be placed
Alina Habba, Trump’s attorney in Trump’s New York civil cases, told Fox News that “we will be prepared” to post the bond amount. On the other hand, James said on ABC News, “If he does not have funds to pay off the judgment, then we will seek judgment enforcement mechanisms in court, and we will ask the judge to seize his assets.”
The Judge should be “disrobed”
In the meantime, Marjorie Taylor Greene defended Trump on X, writing, “Judge Engoron should be disrobed and thrown out, he’s a disgrace!!” Greene added, “Mar-a-lago is worth more now than the ridiculous judgment he ruled against Pres Trump!”
What’s next?
The Judge formally said Trump owed $454 million in a civil fraud case, meaning that the 30-day clock for an appeal had started. James posted on X on February 23, “Friday feeling: No one is above the law.”
Watch Wagner and Rubin on YouTube.
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