The devastating judgment handed down by state Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron on Friday against the former president and his long-time Trump Organization executives will increase by 9 per cent annually until resolved.
That comes to US$87,500 per day, according to the state attorney general’s office – more than most New Yorkers make in a year. On an annual basis, the interest alone puts a US$32 million dent in Trump’s pocket, according to calculations by Associated Press.
Engoron’s blistering ruling found the Republican front runner for president, his former finance chief Allen Weisselberg, company controller Jeff McConney, and sons Eric and Don Jnr liable for six claims alleging they intentionally committed fraud by routinely lying about how much he was worth – often by billions of dollars – in deals with financial institutions.
Trump’s legal debts are more than US$500 million. Will he have to pay?
Trump’s legal debts are more than US$500 million. Will he have to pay?
Engoron found Trump and his crew liable on the top fraud claim before the months-long trial even started.
Trump is on the hook for the overwhelming bulk of the roughly US$364 million in pre-interest penalties laid out in Engoron’s ruling, which also barred him from heading a New York business for three years, among other restrictions.
Trump, who has vowed to appeal, can’t stop the clock. He has until around mid-March to post the total amount in an account controlled by the court or secure a bond.
When the New York attorney general’s office deposed him in April 2023, Trump claimed he had about US$400 million cash in his company accounts. Forbes reported he was worth around US$2.6 billion last September when including his assets.
Trump on Tuesday compared his own legal troubles with the persecution of Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny, who died in prison last week.
In the hour-long appearance broadcast on Fox News, Trump railed against the multimillion dollar fine meted out to him in a New York fraud trial, saying “it’s a form of Navalny”.
“It is a form of communism or fascism,” he added.
Despite prodding from host Laura Ingraham, Trump did not mention Russia’s President Vladimir Putin when asked about Navalny, though he lamented “a very sad situation”.
“He was a very brave guy because he went back. He could have stayed away, and frankly, probably would have been a lot better off staying away and talking from outside of the country.”
Judge denies Trump request to dismiss hush money case, trial to begin in March
Judge denies Trump request to dismiss hush money case, trial to begin in March
But, Trump added: “It’s happening in our country, too. We are turning into a communist country in many ways.
“I have eight or nine trials all because of the fact that … I’m in politics,” he said
“If I were losing in the polls, they wouldn’t even be talking about me and I wouldn’t have had any legal fees,” he alleged.
In addition to the civil fraud case in New York, Trump faces 91 criminal counts, including charges related to alleged electoral interference in the 2020 election, which he lost to Joe Biden.
He has seized on his legal woes as a way to fire up supporters, claiming court cases are “just a way of hurting me in the election”.
Additional reporting by Agence France-Presse