Trump just became even more of a national security threat: ethics group

In a press release published this Thursday, the watchdog group Citizens for Responsible Ethics in Washington (CREW) said the mounting civil judgements against Donald Trump make him even more of a threat to national security than he already was.

Trump is facing judgments that total upwards of $600 million. But according to CREW, the rulings "are more than a financial headache for Trump, they are an unprecedented opportunity to buy influence with a leading presidential candidate and a sitting president should he be re-elected."

The judgements against Trump will likely make banks less inclined to loan him money. Bloomberg reports that Trump’s lenders, “would hold collateral that could include cash, real estate and other assets, while charging the debtor a fee of about 2%” and then charge Trump an additional nearly $5 million a year while he appeals the verdict, which CREW says is a "process that could take years and eat up even more of his dwindling cash on hand."

Also read: 'Hound them': Supreme Court faces flood of protests over Trump immunity case

CREW goes on to say that Trump was always a threat to national security "because he viewed the office of the president as one of self-service rather than public service."

"And his first impeachment revolved around Trump’s use of national security aid to Ukraine as leverage for dirt on his political opponent," CREW's press release stated. "Even after leaving office, Trump reportedly shared classified nuclear submarine information with an Australian billionaire who only became a Mar-a-Lago member to ingratiate himself with the American president, paying generously to attend galas Trump would attend, while in private saying Trump does business 'like the mafia.'"

Now that he's half-a-billion dollars in debt with banks feeling hesitant to do business with him, "Trump will have to find someone new to give him a huge amount of money in a very short time–and that is a major national security risk."