Despite his claims of being worth billions, Donald Trump faces a harsh reality as over 30 financial institutions declined his request for a $464 million legal bond. This refusal underscores the former president's inability to secure funds necessary to appeal a significant civil judgment, revealing a stark contrast between his public persona and financial capabilities.
In a blockbuster legal motion, the real estate baron's own lawyers admitted that the 77-year-old is not wealthy enough to pay $454 million in cash, plus another $10 million in interest, to appeal a civil judgment imposed by New York Judge Arthur Engoron for decades of massive business fraud.
The bond would prevent Empire State Attorney General Letitia James from dismantling the family empire and selling off properties like New York City's Trump Tower to satisfy the devastating judgment. A Beltway insider says something isn't adding up here. He claims to be a billionaire, but when it comes down to it, he struggles to come up with the funds to stop the destruction of almost everything he has created. "It is a farce," the mole added.
Sources say Donald would have to raise at least 120 percent of the judgment, or $544 million, to obtain a bond allowing him to appeal without facing enforcement. Trump’s lawyers estimate his exposure to be closer to $1 billion and argue that he should be permitted to post a bond closer to $100 million.
Legal papers also state that 30 surety companies turned down the former president's desperate request for bond money. Donald is also smarting from having to post a $91.6 million bond in March for a defamation judgment against him by writer E. Jean Carroll, who claims that in the mid-1990s, he sexually assaulted her in a Manhattan department store. He continues to deny the charges despite a civil jury finding him liable for molesting the writer.
Donald also owes $83 million in legal fees, including $77 million to defend against four criminal indictments, two of which accuse him of attempting to overturn the 2020 election. Insiders say Donald's failure to raise a bond is "no surprise" given his poor track record of repaying creditors.
Since 1991, when he could not pay the loan interest on his Taj Mahal casino in Atlantic City, the blowhard has declared corporate bankruptcy six times. “Trump’s a crummy financial risk. His long history of stiffing his creditors is finally coming back to haunt him,” one source told The National Enquirer.
Donald's net worth was estimated to be $2.6 billion last year, despite his removal from Forbes list of the richest 400 Americans. He stated under oath in a deposition that he had "substantially in excess of $400 million" in cash. However, tipsters pointed to signs that the mega-developer was facing a cash crunch.
Donald was accused of misappropriating over $50 million in political donations last year to fund his various legal defenses. He has quickly turned to fundraising schemes, such as selling $399 gold-painted sneakers and superhero non-fungible tokens.
Meanwhile, informants claim that the former president collapses emotionally as he watches James destroy his empire. “He’s irate. He screams at people over the smallest of matters and keeps railing about how the Democrats won’t have the last laugh. He’s an angry mess,” a Mar-a-Lagoo insider claimed.
Political experts believe removing the Trump Tower marquee from the mogul's signature Midtown Manhattan building could derail his current presidential campaign. “That’s a powerful symbol. Democrats will say it’s proof he’s a fraud and a huckster with way less money than he’s claimed. That’s huge because much of his brand is based on being this super-businessman who can solve all of America’s problems,” another informant said.
Meanwhile, former President Donald Trump, the 2024 Republican nominee, faces criticism for disseminating a video on Truth Social, his social media platform, which depicted a truck with an image of President Joe Biden bound and tied. The video, posted on March 29, showcased two vehicles adorned with American flags, a Blue Lives Matter flag in support of law enforcement, among other symbols.
One of the trucks, a black pickup, featured "Trump 2024" prominently on its side. The post suggested that the trucks were observed in Long Island, New York, on Thursday, coinciding with Trump's attendance at the funeral of a New York Police Department officer who had been fatally shot.
Critics expressed concern primarily over the portrayal of Biden appearing restrained in the back of the truck. Michael Tyler, the Communications Director for the Biden campaign, criticized the post in a statement to TIME, equating the imagery to a call for violence.
“This image from Donald Trump is the type of content you share when inciting a bloodbath or instructing the Proud Boys to ‘stand back and stand by,’” Tyler remarked. He accused Donald of consistently inciting political violence, referencing the Capitol Police officers assaulted during the January 6 attacks on democracy.
In response, Steven Cheung, a spokesperson for the Trump campaign, defended the imagery in a statement to TIME, attributing it to the exterior of a pickup truck seen on a highway. Cheung accused Democrats and opponents of engaging in violent rhetoric against Trump and his family and of leveraging the justice system as a weapon against the former president.
Donald has faced ongoing accusations of provoking violence through his statements, dating back to his 2016 presidential campaign. Federal authorities have previously cautioned Trump against using language that might lead to violence or civil unrest.
