Impunity no more?
Trump ordered to pay $350 million.
A New York judge on Friday handed Donald J. Trump a crushing defeat in his civil fraud case, finding the former president liable for conspiring to manipulate his net worth and ordering him to pay a penalty of nearly $355 million plus interest that could wipe out his entire stockpile of cash.
But first he will appeal. I want to see him having to sell properties now.
Justice Engoron barred Mr. Trump for three years from serving in top roles at any New York company, including portions of his own Trump Organization. He also imposed a two-year ban on the former president’s adult sons and ordered that they pay more than $4 million each. One of them, Eric Trump, is the company’s de facto chief executive, and the ruling throws into doubt whether any member of the family can run the business in the near term.
Golly, they might have to find someone who isn’t a crook to do it.
In his unconventional style, Justice Engoron criticized Mr. Trump and the other defendants for refusing to admit wrongdoing for years. “Their complete lack of contrition and remorse borders on pathological,” he said.
Borders on shmorders on. Pathological R Trumps.
But there might be little Mr. Trump can do to thwart one of the judge’s most consequential punishments: extending for three years the appointment of an independent monitor who is the court’s eyes and ears at the Trump Organization. Justice Engoron also strengthened the monitor’s authority to watch for fraud and second-guess transactions that look suspicious.
Mr. Trump’s lawyers have railed against the monitor, Barbara Jones, saying that her work had already cost the business more than $2.5 million; the decision to extend her oversight of the privately held company could enrage the Trumps, who see her presence as an irritant and an insult.
Well good. They need to be irritated and insulted.
Only a three-year ban for the operator of a decades-long fraud scheme seems exceedingly light, to me. I have no idea how much of DJT’s holdings and money are outside of New York.
I’m relishing the schadenfreude of watching this crime family’s fall. The thought of Donnie Two-Scoops raging furiously about it all is even better.
For an astronomical consideration, I would be prepared to hold my nose and offer my services as a financial consultant to this needy Trump family.
My first suggestion would be to strip all the gold plate off the Trump Tower in NYC. Should fetch a bit on the gold market. It could then be replaced by, say: 1. nothing; 2. gold paint; or 3. horse shit. (I would recommend the latter as being most appropriate, and for a list of reasons too long to go into.)
That sounds like a lot more than he’s going to get by squeezing the rubes who come to his rallies. I still wonder what’s still hidden in his tax returns. I’m sure the Russians will be happy with how much he’s damaged the United States even if he doesn’t “win” a second term. The groundwork has already been laid for violent unrest should he lose.
So she blocked a lucrative, shady deal? Good.
But enough to cause someone to blow a gasket? At least then there’d be no need to worry about the legality or constitutionality of keeping him off of states’ ballots.
Him having a Big Mac attack sure would solve a lot of our short term problems, it’s true…
So if Trump loses the 2024 Presidential election, he’s going to be finished financially? We can but hope…
What frightens me is that independent voters see this as a choice between a crook who is seen as a potential strongman and a dotard, and for a presidential election we may see very low turnout in key states that tipped the balance for Biden in 2020. I’m not confident of a Biden win that should be a breeze. While the country is in much better shape than it was in 2020, there is very little confidence in Biden this time around, that he will be able to last 4 more years. I think the Democrats screwed the pooch this time around.
My fear is that the election, even if Biden wins, will be so tight that the claims of fraud will be even louder this time and an insurrection may lead to a much more serious attempt than the one on Jan 26.
I imagine he’ll do what most big wigs do in the same situation. He’ll transfer the money to someone, probably Barron, then file bankruptcy. It doesn’t bother him to file, since he’s done it before.
That’s what Corning did when it lost an environmental law suit. Some Catholic dioceses have done that.
If I can think of it, surely a shady businessman already knows it…I’m neither shady nor a businessman (nor a business woman, either).
@Not Bruce #4
No. That’s how much they have had to pay her for her services over the last 14 months. And even during those 14 months, the company still has no procedures or controls to prevent fraudulent representations on financial documents.