Michael Cohen on Monday weighed in on former President Trump’s growing bill in his New York fraud case after his former boss’s lawyer said it would be “impossible” to secure full bail. warned that they may try to withdraw money from abroad to pay for the
“As Americans, we should be very concerned about where that money is coming from,” said Cohen, who served as Mr. Trump’s lawyer before their falling out. Cohen made the remarks in an interview Monday on MSNBC’s “Deadline: The White House.”
“First and foremost, if it’s from a company like Chubb or Federated; [Insurance], yes, we know that company, it’s an American company, etc. But what if that money comes from Saudi Arabia or Qatar?
“What if it happened to come in through a Russian backdoor channel? This leaves a potential presidential candidate essentially in debt to a foreign company. It’s all about American security. “At the expense of? This is no joke,” he continued.
Earlier Monday, Trump’s lawyers suggested in a court filing that it would be “impossible” to secure the $454 million bail owed in the New York fraud case.
His lawyers told the state Court of Appeals that they spent “countless hours” negotiating with “one of the largest insurance companies in the world” and approached 30 companies to help with the bond.
A New York judge concluded that Trump conspired to lie about his net worth to receive tax and insurance benefits and ordered him to pay a penalty of about $355 million, plus interest. The total amount of the judgment increases by nearly $112,000 in interest for each day he does not pay, and now stands at more than $454 million.
Cohen argued that Trump’s situation could endanger national security if he is elected president for a new term.
“This puts our national security at risk and continues to make Donald Trump the most dangerous threat to our national security and democracy in America,” he said. “He doesn’t care where the money comes from, as long as he has the money.”
Democratic Rep. Sean Kasten (Illinois) argued: Similar points are made on social media“The presumptive @Republican presidential nominee covets $464 million (and growing) that he doesn’t have access to personally. That fact alone makes him a national security It’s a huge security risk. Foreign adversaries seeking to buy off the president know the cost.”
The Trump campaign did not respond to requests for comment.
Monday’s filing comes nearly a week after a federal judge approved Trump’s $91 million bail in a separate defamation lawsuit filed by author E. Jean Carroll, but the former The president found an insurance company to cover the bail.
Court documents show insurance company Chubb underwrote bail in Trump’s defamation suit, but it was not immediately clear how much cash or collateral the former president was required to post. do not have.
President Trump has racked up huge legal fees in these cases, in addition to the four criminal cases he faces. His fundraising committee spent nearly $30 million in legal fees in the second half of 2023, according to federal election filings released earlier this year.
President Trump’s Save America Leadership PAC spent nearly $3 million in legal fees in the first month of this year, according to a February filing.
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