New York state Attorney General Letitia James has reportedly undertaken the first procedural steps setting up the possibility of a seizure of some of Donald Trump’s assets following a massive judgment against him in a financial fraud case that she brought.
Specifically, James’ office has filed the judgments against Trump, which originated in a New York City courtroom, in Westchester County — a New York state jurisdiction just north of the city where a Trump property known as Seven Springs is situated. CNN called the move the “first indication that the state is preparing to try to seize Donald Trump’s golf course and private estate north of Manhattan, known as Seven Springs.” James already expressed openness to the prospect of seizing Trump’s assets in some manner to satisfy the hundreds of millions in penalties that he is facing over a successfully alleged, years-long pattern of business fraud involving the misrepresentation of various assets’ value.
The procedural step undertaken by James’ team in Westchester County is already completed in New York City, where a series of Trump’s high-profile properties are situated. CNN said Thursday afternoon that the step, meanwhile, hadn’t been undertaken in Florida or Illinois jurisdictions that would suggest that state authorities in New York are eyeing Mar-a-Lago or other Trump properties situated in those areas.
Trump and his team have been struggling in attempts to set up a bond agreement staving off collections as he pursues appeals. Recent court filings said that some 30 bond companies rebuffed the former president already, and Trump and his team are now clamoring for the relevant authorities to lift the requirements for Trump to post any bond at all, though he has merely days left to secure some kind of change. Trump recently claimed online that the bond demands were out of the ordinary, but it’s not a new process.
