Donald Trump’s $464M Fine Deadline Collides With Hush Money Case Hearing

Former president Donald Trump is preparing for a very manic Monday with two legal battles in Manhattan: settling a $464 million fraud fine and a pivotal hearing in the Stormy Daniels hush-money trial.

Although Judge Juan Merchan has postponed Trump’s hush money trial until mid-April, jury selection will still begin on March 25.

Despite a string of strategic legal victories, Donald Trump faces the potential for real-world consequences on Monday as he comes face to face with two significant legal battles in Manhattan –  a looming deadline to settle a staggering $464 million fraud fine and a crucial hearing in the Stormy Daniels hush-money trial.

Until now, his legal team’s maneuvers have successfully delayed criminal proceedings, possibly extending court dates until well after the November elections.

However, New York AG Letitia James has issued a stark warning. According to the Daily Mail, she noted that if Trump fails to settle the $464 million court judgment from his New York fraud trial, she will initiate property seizures. Among Trump’s prized possessions, the Art Deco skyscraper 40 Wall Street is at risk.

Additionally, James has set her sights on Trump’s Westchester golf club and Seven Springs estate, signaling her intent with registered judgments in Westchester County.

Venting his frustration on his social media platform, Truth Social, Trump launched a series of fundraising appeals urging New York to “keep your filthy hands off Trump Tower.”

The former president then turned his ire towards the judge responsible for the hefty fine, which escalated by over $100,000 daily during the appeals process.

He wrote on Truth Social: “Arthur Engoron is a Rogue Judge who was intimidated by the big, nasty, and ugly mouth of Leticia James, considered by many to be the WORST Attorney General in the U.S. She is a Low IQ individual who campaigned for Governor, using my name, and got TROUNCED.”

He added: “She and her PUPPET Engoron, who valued Mar-a-Lago at $18,000,000 when it is worth 50 to 100 times that amount, have destroyed all business prospects for New York State, that is already dying, or dead. But have no fear —When I become the 47th President, we will MAKE NEW YORK GREAT AGAIN!”

Amid ongoing legal troubles for Trump, Monday marks a significant turn for what could be the start of his four criminal trials despite Judge Juan Merchan’s agreement to postpone the trial’s commencement until at least mid-April.

The delay comes at the behest of prosecutors from the Southern District of New York, who provided thousands of pages of material to the defense, prompting the extension.

However, the prosecutors said the documents contain only a “limited amount” of fresh information. Despite the delay, Judge Merchan has allowed jury selection to commence on the initially scheduled date of March 25.

Earlier this week, Judge Merchan made a pivotal ruling permitting testimony from key figures like Michael Cohen, David Pecker, Karen McDougal, and Dina Sajudin.

According to the Daily Mail, their testimonies could shed light on an alleged hush money scheme central to the case.

Cohen, having previously pleaded guilty to campaign finance violations, revealed setting up a shell company to facilitate $130,000 worth of payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels, who allegedly had an affair with Trump in 2006.

Notably, Judge Merchan disallowed Trump’s reliance on an informal “presence of counsel” defense for conversations involving Cohen, aiming to circumvent a more formal “advice of counsel” defense that would waive attorney-client privilege protections.

Trump’s legal team recently disclosed the challenges they faced in securing a bond, emphasizing the reluctance of underwriters to accept real estate as collateral.

In a filing, they asserted that despite approaching over 30 bonding companies, they struggled to find a willing institution as the underwriters insisted on cash, stocks, or other liquid assets instead of real estate as collateral.

However, Trump asserted on Friday on his Truth Social Platform that he possessed $500 million in cash, writing: “Through hard work, talent, and luck, I currently have almost five hundred million dollars in cash,” suggesting he could cover the judgment entirely but questioned the necessity to do so.

Asserting his intent to allocate a significant portion of his cash towards his presidential campaign than on the $464 million civil fraud judgment, the former president, in an interview with Fox News, vowed to contest the verdict “all the way up to the U.S. Supreme Court if necessary.”

According to the AP, he added, “They can’t take away your property before you’ve had a chance to appeal.”