In an interview with MSNBC‘s Jen Psaki on Sunday afternoon, Donald Trump‘s former national security adviser John Bolton said the former president’s growing debt amid his legal cases makes him vulnerable to foreign influence and unfit for office.
The Context:
New York Attorney General Letitia James in a lawsuit filed in September 2022 accused Trump, his two adult sons, Donald Jr. and Eric, The Trump Organization and two firm executives, Allen Weisselberg and Jeff McConney of fraudulently overvaluing assets to secure more favorable bank loans and taxation deals.
On Friday, Engoron ruled that Trump will be fined roughly $355 million and be barred from doing business in New York for three years after a monthslong civil trial from late last year into early January. Trump has maintained his innocence in the case and claimed it was politically motivated.
Friday’s judgment comes weeks after Trump was ordered to pay $83.3 million to former Elle columnist E. Jean Carroll for damaging her reputation after she accused him of sexually assaulting her during an incident in the 1990s. A separate jury last year awarded Carroll $5 million from Trump for sexual abuse and defamation. Trump has also denied any wrongdoing in the case.
What We Know:
On Sunday, Bolton weighed in on whether or not Trump’s mounting debt will make him vulnerable to foreign influence, adding that the legal issues he faces is one reason why the former president is not fit for office.
“I think this is one of the demonstrations why Trump is really not fit for office because he is consumed by these troubles, his family is consumed by them, and I think foreigners will try to take advantage of it one way or another. They may be doing it already.”
Bolton added that the financial impact will affect Trump as he could see the former president needing to liquidate some of his properties.
“I think it’s going to result in having him to liquidate some of his properties, I don’t see where he is going to get the cash. I think these are the things that really affect him most immediately because this is his money and lets face it, what Donald Trump cares about most of all is Donald Trump and particularly Donald Trump’s money,” he said.
This comes as the verdict in the civil fraud trial requires Trump to pay interest on some of the deal profits he has been ordered to give up. According to James, the interest payments totaled $99 million and would “continue to increase every single day until it is paid.”
Between Friday’s ruling and the two judgments in Carroll’s case, the former president would be responsible for approximately $542 million in legal judgments.
Newsweek has reached out to Trump’s spokesperson via email for comment.
Joe Raedle/Getty Images
Views:
Bolton is not the first to suggest Trump may liquidate his properties in order to pay for his legal fees, as some recently warned that the money Trump needs to pay in damages could cause liquidity issues for him.
In a January post to X, formerly Twitter, attorney Harry Litman, who previously served as a U.S. attorney for the Western District of Pennsylvania and deputy assistant attorney general at the Department of Justice (DOJ), shared a video discussing the amount of damages, adding that if Trump wants to appeal them he may need to liquidate some of his properties.
“We may have some real liquidity issues now for Donald Trump, so if he wants to appeal this he has to post a bond that is the equal of, let’s say he wants to appeal the punitive damages, he has to cough up $65 million as I understand New York law,” he said. “So he’s going to have to post money to appeal, which I think he will try to do. Nevertheless, it might even mean he has to liquidate some of these properties that he is so proud of.”
While Ciara Torres-Spelliscy, an associate professor of law at Stetson University College of Law, previously told Newsweek that the combination of these two cases could trigger bankruptcy.
“Only Trump knows for sure what his finances actually are, but the combination of the New York civil fraud case and the E. Jean Carroll cases could be a one-two punch that triggers a bankruptcy. However, I doubt ex-President Trump would want to file for bankruptcy during an election year,” she said.
Trump’s lawyer Christopher Kise told Newsweek via email following Friday’s judgment, “The Court today ignored the law, ignored the facts, and simply signed off on the Attorney General’s manifestly unjust political crusade against the front-running candidate for President of the United States.”
In addition, Trump took to Truth Social, his social media platform, and called Engoron “crooked” and James “corrupt.”
What’s Next?
Trump remains the current frontrunner in the 2024 GOP presidential primary despite his ongoing legal troubles, which include four criminal indictments—all in which he maintains his innocence in.
The former president plans to appeal Engoron’s decision, according to his lawyer.
“President Trump will of course appeal and remains confident the Appellate Division will ultimately correct the innumerable and catastrophic errors made by a trial court untethered to the law or to reality,” Christopher Kise previously told Newsweek.
Trump is also set to appeal Carroll’s case in an attempt to lower the $83.3 million awarded. As of February 8, Trump is given 30 days to post a bond pending post-trial motions to have the award lowered.
Update 2/18/24, 4:04 p.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information.
Update 2/18/24, 4:37 p.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.