George Washington University law professor Jonathan Turley said Friday it is “unlikely” that former President Donald Trump will have his assets seized by New York Democratic Attorney General Letitia James.
James filed the judgment against the Trumps on Friday in Westchester County, New York, where the Trumps own private property in Seven Springs and Trump National Golf Club Westchester. Ms. Turley said it may be much more difficult for Ms. James to seize her property than she thought. (Related article: ‘We don’t want to be in the crosshairs’: Banks don’t want to be Letitia James’ ‘next target’, Turley says)
“These properties are partnerships and leverage debt. All of that needs to be figured out,” Turley told FOX Business host Larry Kudrow. “So these aren’t just one-on-one relationships like Trump vs. James. So to seize that property, she’s going to be taken to court, and there’s going to be all sorts of hoops involved.” It’s not going to happen overnight. Everyone is celebrating this idea of her putting a padlock on Trump Tower. It’s unlikely that that will happen, and it’s certainly not likely that it will last long. .”
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“The other thing is that she may be damaging the value of the property that she’s trying to seize by some of these actions,” Turley continued. “I don’t think it matters to her, but it may matter to her court.”
Trump’s lawyers said Monday that the former president is struggling to pay more than $450 million in bail to cover a civil fraud judgment issued by New York Judge Arthur Engoron. Trump is expected to earn at least $3 billion from the merger of Digital World Acquisition Corporation (DWAC) and Trump Media and Technology Group (TMTG), which was approved by DWAC’s shareholders on Friday.
Turley also noted that damages could be reduced by the appellate court. “There’s an Eighth Amendment issue here. There’s also a due process issue. In addition, this line of litigation is pretty thin, so this is new territory for the courts, so there’s some anxiety. We have it,” Turley said. “But there’s also a due process issue. The court, the Supreme Court, in a rare instance, stepped into the state’s case and said this is a kind of exaggerated damage amount and violates due process.”
“I think New York is unique because they even forfeited bail in this case, so they have bail rules that seem to be punitive, not just damages, and that’s what was used by James and this judge. That’s for sure,” Turley added. “Thus, these are viable challenges that could go all the way to the Supreme Court.”
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