Michael Cohen Thinks Trump Will Have to Sell Assets After Fraud Verdict: 'Doesn’t Have $400M Cash'
Following the recent fraud trial verdict, Michael Cohen, former President Donald Trump’s once-trusted lawyer, predicted that Trump would be forced to liquidate assets to settle the escalating legal fees. Cohen’s claim came during an interview on MSNBC’s Velshi with anchor Ali Velshi, where he emphasized the substantial legal expenses that Trump faces and underscored Trump’s purported lack of liquidity. Cohen exclaimed, “There is a now a judgment against him for over $500 million, not including the $88.6 million he’s going to owe to E. Jean Carroll. It’s an enormous amount of money that he does not have.”
I thank Judge Engoron for his acknowledgement of my veracity and hope this helps to expose Trump, Don, Eric, Weisselberg, McConney, Habba, Kise and Robert’s never ending lies and attacks about me. The TRUTH always rises! https://t.co/GdYTBE2Mcs
— Michael Cohen (@MichaelCohen212) February 17, 2024
As per Mediaite, Cohen was skeptical regarding Trump’s financial capabilities, asserting that Trump doesn’t possess the purported $400 million in cash. He highlighted the necessity for Trump to showcase prominent liquidity to cover the extensive legal doubts he has accrued.
Cohen claimed, “I don’t care what anybody wants to write in any newspaper, regardless of what their credentials may be, unless he’s going to show you that his bank account has more than a half a million, he doesn’t have 400 million of cash on hand. Maybe what he’s doing is he’s including RNC money, or he’s including the PAC money, or he’s including the various different condominium money that’s sitting in Cat X accounts, that they do not belong to him. Right?
The lawyer continued, "Those don’t belong to him either. He has a very interesting way of looking at money, and the way he looks at is if his name is somehow attached to that, it’s available. It’s available to him. It is not right and he doesn’t have it. They’re going to have to start liquidating assets.”
“There’s only a handful of people in the country who can write a check for half a billion dollars. Donald Trump is not one of them.”
— Allison Burnett (@Allison_Burnett) February 16, 2024
—Michael Cohen just now on MSNBC
Cohen’s lethal remarks come in the wake of Judge Arthur Engoron’s ruling, which charged Trump to pay nearly $355 million in penalties for mishandling his business assets for tax and insurance benefits, a lawsuit filed by New York Attorney General Letitia James.
Michael Cohen reacts to judge trashing Trump in $355 million fraud case. pic.twitter.com/U5zUv01GJn
— Emeka Gift Official (@EmekaGift100) February 18, 2024
Moreover, the former President’s ambitions for a political setback might be twisted by his financial predicament. As per The Hill, Cohen suggested, “Donald’s theory right now, the only out for him, both financially, as well as criminally, regarding incarceration, is if he wins the election. He’s not running for the presidency of the United States to do good for the United States, he wants to do — and the only way he can do good — for himself, is to win the presidency.” The complications of these legal battles extend beyond Trump himself. Judge Engoron’s ruling also implicated Trump’s sons, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, imposing additional fines on them, as per NBC News.
The legal entanglements surrounding the Trump Organization reverberate throughout the Trump family, further complicating their financial outlook. As Cohen foresees a likely inevitable need for asset liquidation, the fallout from Trump's legal battles underscores the complexities and uncertainties surrounding his financial future. Trump's once-gilded empire now faces significant challenges, with the specter of asset liquidation looming large as he navigates the legal and financial ramifications of his actions.