A Financial Reckoning for Donald Trump

Contributing sentiments towards policy:

58% : In February, Judge Arthur F. Engoron imposed a huge fine of $354.9 million on Trump, his two eldest sons, and their associates, plus an interest charge of $98.6 million.
51% : Yet another possible option would be to try and secure a loan or investment from a third party -- but who would give Trump half a billion dollars on short notice?
48% : In a statement accompanying the filing, Gary Giulietti, a senior executive at one of the brokers that had worked with the Trump Organization, Lockton, said that only a handful of insurance companies were approved by the Treasury Department to underwrite bonds of the size that Trump requires, and "none of these sureties will accept hard assets such as real estate as collateral.
44% : It was interesting, in that Trump had long been notorious for exaggerating his net worth, but it appeared to be less consequential than the ongoing criminal investigations he faced, especially the Justice Department's probe of his actions after the 2020 election.
44% : According to an MSNBC report, Trump pledged a brokerage account with Charles Schwab to obtain this bond.
44% : A bankruptcy filing would provide Trump with temporary protection from his creditors, including the New York attorney general's office, but it would hardly be costless.
39% : At a moment when Trump's legal team has been enjoying a run of success in delaying the four criminal cases against their client, Monday's development came as a reminder of the deep legal and financial peril that Trump is in.
36% : Of course, everything Trump and his lawyers say should be treated skeptically.
34% : They asked the court to waive the bond, or reduce it from four hundred and sixty-four million dollars to a hundred million dollars, claiming it was a "practical impossibility" for Trump to raise such a sum.
33% : At a moment when many people are despairing about the seeming inability of the legal system to hold Trump to account before November, this latest development is testament to the formidable powers to go after fraudulent businesses that the New York attorney general possesses under state law.
32% : About the only significant action that the A.G.'s office took against Trump came immediately after the 2016 election, when Eric Schneiderman, one of James's Democratic predecessors, forced him to close down Trump University -- a scam operation if ever there was one -- and pay a settlement of twenty-five million dollars.
29% : In a deposition last year, Trump said that his companies had more than four hundred million dollars in cash or cash equivalents, which may well be an exaggeration.
29% : "That leaves Trump in a bind.
27% : For decades, Trump managed to maneuver around this threat, despite allegations that he routinely stiffed contractors and engaged in other unscrupulous behavior.
24% : In looking at options to forestall such an outcome, Trump "has not ruled out the possibility of having the corporate entities declare bankruptcy," the Times reported on Monday, citing "people with knowledge of the discussions."
21% : In a series of posts on his social-media site on Tuesday morning, Trump railed against Engoran and James, complaining that if he has to post a bond he "would be forced to mortgage or sell Great Assets, perhaps at Fire Sale prices, and if and when I win the Appeal, they would be gone."
17% : In September, 2022, when Letitia James, the New York attorney general, sued Donald Trump for engaging in "years of financial fraud" by knowingly inflating the value of his assets, the case, a civil one, seemed like a bit of a sideshow.

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