Donald Trump raged about potentially having to sell his "babies" in a Truth Social post on Monday as he faces a pivotal deadline in New York Attorney General Letitia James' business fraud case.
The former president is facing a Monday deadline to pay the $454 million fine or post bond in his business fraud case after Judge Arthur Engoron in February ordered him to pay $355 million after siding with James in the civil suit. James accused Trump and top executives at The Trump Organization of conspiring to increase his net worth by billions of dollars on financial statements provided to banks and insurers to make deals and secure loans.
With interest, the amount owed by Trump has grown to $454 million. Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, has maintained he did not engage in any wrongdoing and has vowed to appeal the case. He accused James of targeting him for political purposes. If the cash bond is not paid on Monday, James could begin seizing his properties and assets.
As the end-of-day deadline loomed, Trump took to Truth Social on Monday morning to share his discontent.
"Crooked Pols!!! There should be no FINE. Did nothing wrong! Why should I be forced to sell my "babies" because a CORRUPT NEW YORK JUDGE & A.G. SET A FAKE AND RIDICULOUS NUMBER," Trump wrote in one post.
He wrote that it is a case of "election interference" that was "ALL HEADED UP BY THE WHITE HOUSE - THIS INCLUDES FANI AND THE CORRUPT MANHATTAN D.A. BRAGG ADMITTED THERE WAS NO CRIME, WAS MORTIFIED BY WHAT MARK POMERANTZ DID - AND HE SHOULD BE. WITCH HUNT!"
In a separate post, Trump ripped his legal cases as "rigged" and "coordinated by the White House and DOJ for purposes of Election Interference." No evidence has been presented to back up claims that the White House has anything to do with his criminal cases.
"THE NUMBER ENGORON SET IS FRAUDULENT. It should be ZERO, I DID NOTHING WRONG! The D.A. Case, that I am going to today, should be dismissed. No crime. Our Country is CORRUPT!" he wrote.
Newsweek reached out to Trump's campaign via email and James' office via her media contact form for comment.
Trump's lawyers previously said it is a "practical impossibility" for the former president to come up with the cash needed to post bond while trying to argue that the court should accept a $100 million bond instead.
In another Truth Social post last week, Trump claimed that he had about $500 million in available cash but wants to use that money to fund his campaign.
If he does not meet the deadline, James may not immediately start to seize his properties. She may, however, begin taking steps to freeze his bank accounts in order to deliver the cash or other forms of payments to her New York office.
A document from the attorney general's office previously reviewed by Newsweek lists Trump's properties that had "fraudulent" and "misleading" values and could potentially be seized.
James said in an interview with ABC News in February that she is willing to seize Trump's property if he is unable to come up with the money.
"If he does not have funds to pay off the judgment, then we will seek judgment enforcement mechanisms in court, and we will ask the judge to seize his assets," she said.
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Andrew Stanton is a Newsweek weekend reporter based in Maine. His role is reporting on U.S. politics and social issues. ... Read more
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