Trump may end up having to pay over $600 million in fines — and he doesn't have it: Michael Cohen
Donald Trump's former lawyer thinks that the $250 million fine that Attorney General Letitia James has calculated for the Trump Organization is actually just a starting point. He has already been found liable.
Speaking to MSNBC's Jen Psaki on Sunday, Cohen anticipated Trump likely won't handle things "well" if he ends up in court Monday.
"And again, that assumes that he actually appears tomorrow for it," said Cohen.
Trump is set to appear for the Trump Org. in the trial that will decide the amount the company will owe. While he is on the witness list for both the defense and the attorney general, Trump doesn't necessarily have to be in court on Monday. Cohen thinks it's because Trump is continuing to dodge giving a deposition in his own lawsuit against Cohen.
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"Knowing Donald the way that I do, I would say that there is less than a 20 percent chance that he actually shows up," said Cohen. "What is he showing up for? To show, up and to watch, he is not being called tomorrow? He is going to sit and watch as the judge listens to testimony based upon how the evaluations were wrong, how the judge is going to determine the extent of the damage."
Cohen explained that James used the number $250 million as only an estimation and a baseline for the fines. While James has said in the past that the fees would be included in that sum, Cohen thinks Trump will on the hook for significantly more.
"There is a baseline here of $250 million," said Cohen. "She does not believe that it will be less than $250 million. I suspect that it will be an excess of $600 million."
"The statements were used to obtain and maintain favorable loans over at least an 11-year period," said James' indictment from Sept. 21, 2022. All told, the financial benefit realized from this scheme was approximately $250 million, including interest savings and transaction profits, because of the favorable loan terms they were able to obtain using his false and misleading statements."
Cohen told Raw Story this week that he thinks it's a mistake for reporters to stop at the $250 million number. Cohen said the same to CNN's Kaitlin Collins on Tuesday. What isn't being mentioned, he told us, is the interest calculations and other penalties.
If interest is 2 percent per month, at $250 million, that's $5 million annually.
"So, tack on another five years for that. Compound it, you're talking about another $30 -35 million. That's just the interest penalty," he told Raw Story. If the amount were $500 million, it would mean $10 million in interest annually.
"I mean, the numbers are really huge here," he said.
He went on to explain how Trump's assets will likely be divided and how it will impact those living in the properties.
Based on these numbers, however, Cohen told Raw Story that the former president "doesn't have the liquidity to handle even the baseline of $250 million." Much less anything larger.
See the video clip below or at the link below.
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