NEW YORK — Donald Trump’s legal debts could now exceed half a billion dollars.
A New York judge on Friday ordered Trump and his companies to pay $355 million in fines, plus interest, after ruling that he manipulated his assets in financial statements.
The harsh punishment comes just weeks after Trump was ordered to pay writer E. Jean Carroll $83.3 million for damaging her reputation after she accused him of sexual assault. Last year, a separate jury awarded Carroll $5 million from Trump for sexual abuse and defamation.
Add in interest payments and the verdicts could deal a staggering blow to the personal fortunes that remain the core of Trump’s political appeal. He has unequivocally denied wrongdoing and vowed to appeal, a process that could take months or even years.
In the meantime, here’s what we know about what Trump owes, whether he’ll have to pay, and what comes next:
The ruling in the civil fraud lawsuit requires Trump to pay interest on some of the deal profits he must forgo. New York Attorney General Letitia James, who brought the case, said the interest payments totaled $99 million and would “continue to increase every day until paid.”
Between Friday’s ruling and the two rulings in Carroll’s case, Trump would be on the hook for about $542 million in legal judgments.
Trump owes another $110,000 for refusing to comply with a subpoena in the civil fraud case and $15,000 for repeatedly defaming the judge’s clerk in violation of a silence order. As part of Friday’s ruling, the judge also ordered both of Trump’s sons to pay $4 million each.
Trump’s court-ordered debts don’t stop there. Last month, he was ordered to pay nearly $400,000 in legal fees to The New York Times after unsuccessfully suing the newspaper. He is currently appealing a $938,000 judgment against him and his attorney for filing a so-called “frivolous” lawsuit against Hillary Clinton.
It is not uncommon for the size of judgments, especially large amounts, to be reduced on appeal.
The appeal in Trump’s civil fraud case will first go to a secondary court. If the country issues an unfavorable ruling, Trump could try to take the case to the highest appeals court in New York, although legal experts say that is unlikely.
Trump has already paid $5 million to Carroll for the first defamation case into a court-supervised account, along with another $500,000 in interest required by New York law. Carroll will not have access to the money until the appeal process is completed.
He may soon be forced to do the same for the $83.3 million judgment in the second Carroll verdict. Alternatively, he could secure a bond and pay only a portion upfront, although that option would incur interest and fees and would likely require some form of collateral. Trump would have to find a financial institution willing to give him the money.
In the civil fraud case, it will be up to the courts to decide how much Trump should pay if he appeals. And he may have to pay the full amount immediately after the appeals court’s ruling, which could happen as soon as this summer, according to University of Michigan law professor Will Thomas.
“New York’s justice system has shown a willingness to take swift action on some of these Trump issues,” Thomas said. “If we hear from the first appellate court, that’s a point where money will almost certainly change hands.”
Trump has claimed he is worth more than $10 billion. Most estimates, including an assessment by New York’s attorney general, put that figure closer to $2 billion.
In his 2021 financial statement, Trump said he had just under $300 million in “cash and cash equivalents.” Since then, he’s made a number of sales, including his golf course in New York and his hotel in Washington, D.C., and he may also soon get a windfall when his social media company, Truth Social, goes public.
But even with these income streams, it’s unclear whether Trump and his family members have enough cash on hand to pay all the money they now owe.
Federal election law prohibits the use of campaign funds for personal use. But the rules are much murkier when it comes to tapping political action committees – or PACs – for a candidate’s expenses.
Over the past two years, the Save America political action committee, his presidential campaign and his other fundraising organizations have spent $76.7 million on legal fees. Campaign finance experts expect Trump will try to spend PAC money to somehow cover the costs of his judgments.
“The likelihood that the Federal Election Commission as currently constituted will pursue these violations is not very high,” said Daniel Weiner, director of the Brennan Center’s Elections and Government Program.
According to the judge’s ruling on Friday, Trump would still be liable for the payment even if the Trump Organization goes bankrupt. If Trump were to declare personal bankruptcy, enforcement of the judgment against him would be stayed. But political commentators say such a drastic step is unlikely.
Despite the fact that several of his previous companies have failed, Trump has repeatedly bragged about the fact that he personally has never gone bankrupt.
Legally, Trump would face the same consequences as any American who refuses to seek judgment, including the possibility of having his assets seized and his wages garnished.
“The president is not king and the president’s assets are not sacred just because he happened to be the president,” Weiner said.
On Friday, the judge overseeing Trump’s civil fraud case appointed an additional monitor to oversee the Trump Organization’s finances, saying they could not be trusted to comply with the law. In the event that Trump refused to hand over payments, the courts would have additional discretionary power to go after Trump and his companies.
“They have an enormous amount of power, especially for someone like Trump, who has physical assets within the state,” said Thomas, the law professor. ‘The court could say we are going to freeze your bank account. Or worse, they could say, “We’re going to seize Trump Tower and put it up for sale.”