Donald Trump spent Friday morning blasting out capitalized screeds on his social media platform, including the claim that he has nearly $500 million “IN CASH.”
According to legal experts, that was not a wise move.
“THROUGH HARD WORK, TALENT, AND LUCK, I CURRENTLY HAVE ALMOST FIVE HUNDRED MILLION DOLLARS IN CASH, A SUBSTANTIAL AMOUNT OF WHICH I INTENDED TO USE IN MY CAMPAIGN FOR PRESIDENT,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
The GOP’s presumptive presidential nominee continued with a conspiracy theory about the New York judge who oversaw his civil fraud case, claiming that Judge Arthur Engoron knew how much cash Trump had and “WANTED TO TAKE IT AWAY FROM ME.”
Trump was ordered by Engoron last month to pay more than $350 million in damages, plus interest, for decades of fraudulent business practices. The former president is appealing the verdict and must post bond by Monday, or face the seizure of his assets by New York Attorney General Letitia James.
Trump’s team claimed in a court filing this week that “obtaining an appeal bond for $464 million is a practical impossibility under the circumstances presented.” (That figure includes $454 million for Trump himself and millions more to cover the disgorgement for his sons.) The brief said that he had been rejected by 30 bond companies, which would only accept cash or cash equivalents as collateral.
Nick Akerman, a legal analyst and former Watergate prosecutor, appeared Friday morning on CNN to discuss the developments.
“That is the dumbest thing he could have possibly done, to put that on Truth Social, because that is a direct admission by him that he has the money,” Akerman said, in a clip flagged by Mediaite.
“Keep in mind, even with this operating money or cash that he supposedly has, if he doesn’t pony up and put up a bond, Letitia James is going to be able to go in and basically put restraining orders on all of his bank accounts,” he continued.
“Everything that relates to him and all of that money is going to be tied up and frozen. So if he’s really got that money, he’s got to put it up.”
Other legal minds also chimed in.
Renato Mariotti, a former federal prosecutor, said on social media that “you can expect the court to ask Trump’s lawyers about this,” given the contradiction with this week’s court filing.
Trump now claims that he has almost $500 million in cash, but his lawyers recently told the appellate court that he has no means to post a $454 million bond.
One of them is lying, and you can expect the court to ask Trump’s lawyers about this. pic.twitter.com/z0Yj6NUc7B
— Renato Mariotti (@renato_mariotti) March 22, 2024
Norm Eisen, a CNN legal analyst and former White House ethics lawyer, said that Trump’s Truth Social post was “so dumb.”
“AG Tish James can help herself, including to this supposed money!” he tweeted.
“Hard to imagine that anyone could think this man is mentally and psychologically fit to be president of the United States,” conservative attorney George Conway tweeted, alongside a screenshot of Trump’s post. “But here we are.”
MSNBC host and legal contributor Katie Phang said that the post “should make it easier for the appellate court to decide what to do with Trump’s motion to stay Tish James’ execution on her judgment.”
“Paging @NewYorkStateAG!” Phang wrote in a separate tweet, using a handle for the attorney general. “Cash clean-up in Aisle 454!”
