How much money does Donald Trump ACTUALLY have?
All during the second [E. J. Carroll] trial, the question has been what amount of damages would cause Trump to shut up and stop abusing Carroll. Well he didn’t shut up, but his post-verdict social media didn’t mention the journalist, and that’s a victory in itself. (He railed against “this whole Biden Directed Witch Hunt.”) Maybe he’s finally taking Kaplan at his word that the judge will let Carroll come back, if necessary, to seek more damages.
Not far away in Lower Manhattan, Trump will be back in court next week to hear Judge Arthur Engeron’s decision as to what he must pay for years of business fraud. Though the two cases are very different, in both the facts were not in dispute; all that’s up for consideration is the amount of damages Trump must pay. If Attorney General Letitia James gets the $300 million she is seeking, suddenly, between that and the two Carroll awards, Trump is dangerously close to the $400 million he has testified he has in cash on hand. He won’t be forced to fork over all the damages at once, since he’s appealing, but having to post bail just to appeal the verdicts puts him in a financially precarious situation nonetheless.
Of course, he’ll likely turn to the MAGA faithful to pay his legal bills, but that’s money he can’t spend on his campaign. If I’m Nikki Haley, I’m hanging around at least until the South Carolina primary and maybe even Super Tuesday on March 5, just to see if his money woes—and other legal troubles—begin to pinch. Haley has shown no sisterly solidarity with Carroll, unbelievably claiming that she was unfamiliar with the details of the case. But Carroll has given Haley a minor victory nonetheless….