Trump unspools early morning all-cap freakout about half billion he owes as deadline looms

Donald Trump claimed to have exactly enough cash to pay off his New York fraud judgment in an early morning, all-caps rant.

The ex-president was ordered by justice Arthur Engoron to pay $454 million in penalties after he was found liable for habitually defrauding lenders by inflating property values for his own financial benefit, and he complained that New York Attorney General Letitia James had brought the case to hurt his re-election chances, although she filed the lawsuit two months before he officially announced.

"Through hard work, talent, and luck, I currently have almost five hundred million dollars in cash, a substantial amount of which I intended to use in my campaign for president," Trump posted on Truth Social.

Trump just entered into an agreement with the Republican National Committee and state parties that will send donations first to his campaign committee and then to the leadership PAC that pays his legal bills before the national GOP gets a cut, and his Save America PAC has already spent more than $72.5 million on legal expenses since the start of 2021.

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"The often overturned political hack judge on the rigged and corrupt A.G. case, where I have done nothing wrong, knew this, wanted to take it away from me, and that's where and why he came up with the shocking number which, coupled with his crazy interest demand, is approximately $454,000,000," Trump posted.

The judge ordered Trump to pay $355 million in damages, but that number quickly ballooned due to a 9-percent interest rate, and he must put up a bond under New York law that amounts to 110 percent of that to stave off the penalty while the appeals process plays out, but the ex-president has been unable to find an insurer to cover that amount because they feel the loan is too risky.

"I did nothing wrong except win an election in 2016 that I wasn't expected to win, did even better in 2020, and now lead, by a lot, in 2024," Trump posted. "This is communism in America!"

James gave him a 30-day grace period to pay off the penalty that ends Monday, after which she may begin seizing his assets to satisfy the judgment.