In a discussion with ABC News, New York state Attorney General Letitia James indicated that she is prepared to pursue the seizure of Trump assets to cover hundreds of millions of dollars in penalties recently imposed following a fraud case she brought against the Trumps.
James alleged a years-long pattern of former President Donald Trump and figures close to him financially benefiting from the misrepresentation of various assets’ value in contexts like loan negotiations. The penalties subsequently imposed by trial Judge Arthur Engoron neared half a billion dollars once including interest charges. Engoron’s decision also blocks Trump for three years from leadership roles in New York businesses, imposing two-year restrictions on Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, children of the former president who are extensively involved in the Trumps’ business.
“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,” James told ABC. The case, amid which Trump keeps trying to allege he’s the victim of political plots, looked slated for an appeals process.
The penalties left looming by Engoron’s ruling follow large financial penalties imposed on Trump amid civil litigation from writer E. Jean Carroll, who accused Trump of sexual assault and defamation. Combined penalties from two trials covering Carroll’s claims neared $90 million, and a lawyer for the writer — Roberta Kaplan — indicated they were prepared to potentially sue Trump again. He’s continued with on-again, off-again derision towards Carroll, creating a new series of defamation allegations by maligning her once exiting the presidency. Juries have largely upheld Carroll’s claims against Trump — which, yet again, has not shaken Republican support for the former president. He’s headed toward his first criminal trial at the end of next month in New York covering allegations of falsifying business records in connection to hush money.
