donald trump claimed As they appeal New York’s civil fraud ruling, their lawyers have complained about the $454 million bail they claim they can’t pay, and on Friday said it was “nearly $500 million bail.” He was able to freely use “dollar cash.”
early morning in a big city post “Through hard work, talent and luck, I now have close to $500 million in cash, and I intended to use a significant amount of it for my presidential campaign,” the former president told his Truth Social platform. .
Mr. Trump claimed that the judge in the New York fraud case knew this and imposed penalties amounting to about $454 million with interest.
Trump’s lawyers said it would be “virtually impossible” for him to meet the bond by the March 25 deadline. In response, New York Attorney General Letitia James reportedly took steps to seize real estate owned by Trump.
a legal analyst called President Trump’s rant Friday morning was “the stupidest thing he could have done.”
“That’s a direct admission that he has money.” nick ackermana former assistant attorney general for the Southern District of New York, who was a prosecutor during the Watergate scandal that brought down President Richard Nixon, told CNN.
“Remember, even with the operating funds and cash that he’s supposed to have, if he doesn’t pony up and set a bond, Letitia James is going to break in and basically It means they will be able to impose a restraining order on all of his banks’ accounts. Everything related to him and all his money will be tied up and frozen.
“So if he really has that money, he has to pay it.”
Trump faces an unprecedented legal crisis as he races to return to the White House. 88 criminal charges (14 for election interference, 40 for keeping confidential information, 34 for hush money payments) and various civil fines (both fraud cases) and a defamation case stemming from the rape charge. The judge found the statement to be “substantially true.”
Trump’s legal costs will therefore be enormous. He received a potential boost Friday after shareholders approved the listing of Truth Social’s parent company, Trump Media & Technology, which could net him more than $3 billion in profits. . But that money will not be available for some time and will be subject to the whims of the market.
At multiple stores on Friday as well. report President Trump’s new funding deal with the Republican National Committee will direct donations to his campaign and political action committees that will pay for legal fees before the RNC gets a cut.
Trump donors received at least $76 in unusual diversion of funds to his Save America political action committee, revealed in an invitation to an April 6 event in Florida obtained by The Associated Press For more than two years, the funds are likely to be sent to his lawyer.
The fine print says the donations will first be used to donate the maximum amount allowed by federal law to the Trump campaign, adding up to the total amount. $6,600 For individuals filing in the primary and subsequent general elections. Any money left over will then go towards a donation of up to $5,000 to Save America. Anything beyond that is up to the RNC and state parties.
The invitation asks top donors to contribute $250,000 as a “host committee” donor, or $814,600 for a seat at President Trump’s table. A separate donation form allows donors to make donations of any size, but specifies in fine print that their contributions will be allocated first to the Trump campaign and Save America.
The fine print says any donor can have their gift distributed in different ways. Donors can also donate directly to the RNC or other organizations.
The Trump campaign said donors who gave the proposed $814,600, or $250,000 each, would receive hundreds of thousands of dollars to donate to the RNC, and Save America said it was a “highly active post-presidential” RNC. It also covers the cost of a solid office and various other expenses.” However, the New York Times reported that for smaller events and donations, a much larger share goes to Save America.
This effectively means that when checks are made to the newly unified Republican campaign, the Trump campaign and Save America will be paid first.
President Trump reportedly opposes declaring bankruptcy, a step that would delay payments on civil lawsuits but would likely damage his campaign’s image, and Save America said in 2023 After spending more than $50 million in legal fees in 2019, the FEC entered 2024 with just $5 million in cash on hand, according to documents filed with the Federal Election Commission.
The Trump campaign said Save America is spending money on expenses other than legal fees. However, 85% of operating expenses in the first two months of this year were legal expenses, totaling $8.5 million.
President Trump’s political operation is struggling to catch Joe Biden when it comes to fundraising. The Trump campaign and Save America raised $15.9 million in February and reported having more than $37 million on hand, according to FEC filings. The Biden campaign had raised $53 million and had $155 million on hand.
Biden campaign email Thursday made fun of Trump as a “broke don.”
But with control of the RNC, Trump can take advantage of much higher contribution limits. His hand-picked leadership team includes his daughter-in-law, Lara Trump, and Chris Lacivita, one of his two campaign managers and currently the RNC chief of staff. ing.
Lacivita had previously indicated that the RNC would not pay Trump’s legal costs.
In February, RNC member Henry Barber attempted to formally ban such spending. saying: “The RNC has one job, and that is to win elections. I believe that RNC funds should be used only for winning elections and political expenses, not legal fees.” Masu.”
Lacivita Said: “The primaries are over and it is the RNC’s sole responsibility to defeat Joe Biden and take back the White House. Efforts to delay it will only aid Joe Biden in destroying our country.”
But with Trump’s takeover of the RNC complete, Republicans are reportedly concerned that the cash-strapped party could run out of money.
