CNN reporter Stephen Collinson on Monday found himself unable to conceal how disturbed he was by former President Donald Trump regularly paying tribute to the violent rioters who attacked the United States Capitol on his behalf.
Trump regularly refers to the January 6th rioters as "hostages" and has vowed to free them from jail should he be elected president again later this year.
Collinson, however, took a hatchet to Trump's claims about the rioters.
"These people aren't hostages," he said. "They've gone through a legal process. They were found guilty by juries... and they're serving their time for what was, you know, a crime against democracy."
He then shifted focus to the way Trump is trying to use the deadly January 6th riots to his political advantage by deploying the same election-denying playbook he used in 2020.
"What's interesting about the way Trump is doing it, he's almost laying the groundwork for a new election which, if he loses, he will say, 'This is the same thing, the system is broken, there is fraud,'" he explained. "This is what he does. He sets the groundwork for delegitimizing an election even before it happens."
He then turned his focus back to Trump's regular tributes to the Capitol rioters at his rallies.
"It is quite a chilling moment, when you're in one of those rallies, to see this unfold," he said. "There's a thing he does at the end... which is almost a dirge of really extremist rhetoric with this foreboding music, and you see the rally turn from almost a comedy show, as it is in some cases, into something a lot darker, and that plays into this idea of a second term being devoted to retribution."
The $454 million fraud judgment comes due for Donald Trump on Monday, and he started off the day with a fresh complaint about his legal predicament.
The former president has already filed notice that he would appeal the judgment from New York Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron, who found him liable for habitually inflating his assets to obtain business loans, but he has been unable to secure a bond worth 110 percent of the penalty to block the attorney general from enforcing the court order during the appeal.
"These are Rigged cases, all coordinated by the White House and DOJ for purposes of Election Interference," Trumpposted on Truth Social. "THE NUMBER ENGORON SET IS FRAUDULENT. It should be ZERO, I DID NOTHING WRONG! The D.A. Case, that I am going to today, should be dismissed. No crime. Our Country is CORRUPT!"
New York Attorney General Letitia James could have enforced the judgment after it became final last month, but she extended a 30-day grace period that expires Monday, although she's not expected to take aggressive action immediately.
Trump followed up that post about a half hour later with another rant complaining about his fraud penalty and his upcoming trial in Georgia in the election subversion case.
"Crooked Pols!!! There should be no FINE," Trump posted. "Did nothing wrong! Why should I be forced to sell my 'babies' because a CORRUPT NEW YORK JUDGE & A.G. SET A FAKE AND RIDICULOUS NUMBER. 'TAKE HIS CASH SO THAT HE CAN’T USE IT TO DEFEAT HIS POLITICAL OPPONENT, CROOKED JOE BIDEN.' ELECTION INTERFERENCE, ALL HEADED UP BY THE WHITE HOUSE - THIS INCLUDES FANI AND THE CORRUPT MANHATTAN D.A. BRAGG ADMITTED THERE WAS NO CRIME, WAS MORTIFIED BY WHAT MARK POMERANCE DID - AND HE SHOULD BE. WITCH HUNT!
The ex-president's lawyers have told the court that more than 30 bond companies have refused to extend the cash necessary to halt enforcement because much of his wealth is tied up in real estate, which insurers rarely accept as collateral.
The appeals court could reduce the penalty, but that decision is not expected until later this week, at the earliest.
Trump is also expected to attend a court hearing Monday in Manhattan, three weeks before the start of his criminal trial related to the hush money payment to porn actress Stormy Daniels.
That trial had been scheduled to start Monday, but it was delayed after the Department of Justice turned over additional evidence earlier this month.
On Monday, Donald Trump will be in a Manhattan courtroom where he will likely find out how quickly the hush money case being prosecuted by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg will proceed before a jury, while he also faces a deadline to come up with nearly a half billion dollar appeals bond after losing a financial fraud case.
According to a former impeachment counsel to the House Judiciary Committee and a Florida state attorney, this could be the week when the former president's fortunes come crashing down despite all of his delay tactics.
As they wrote, "All signs are that the New York criminal case brought by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Braggwill be confirmed imminently for a start date in April, after a short pause occasioned by a last-minute federal document dump. And the civil judgment already won by New York Attorney General Letitia James is moving briskly as well, with the AG apparently set to begin seizing Trump properties as soon as Monday. This week promises to be an inflection point in both cases."
When it comes to the hush money case to be heard in Judge Juan Merchan's courtroom, the two wrote that judge has bent over backward more than enough for Trump and his lawyers, and they expect him to set a firm start date that will take place within weeks.
They also agreed that New York Attorney General Letitia James is in a position to make good on her threats to begin seizing Trump's assets with additional liens to come.
"Whatever delays may be present in those jurisdictions, or in Florida’s Mar-a-Lago documents case, in New York the former president is facing serious hits," they wrote before concluding, "To our mind, he is not dodging legal accountability – it has backed him into a corner and appears ready to land a hard punch, maybe even a knockout."
MSNBC's Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski pledged they would not book former Republican National Committee chair Ronna McDaniel on "Morning Joe."
Network president Rashida Jones reportedly called anchors over the weekend to assure them there was no obligation to bring McDaniel onto their shows, and Scarborough made clear he disagreed with her hiring as a paid contributor due to her involvement in Donald Trump's scheme to overturn the 2020 election.
"I know you won't be surprised to know that we've been inundated with calls this weekend, as have most people connected with this network, about NBC's decision to hire her," Scarborough said. "We learned about the hiring when we read about it in the press on Friday. We weren't asked our opinion of the hiring, but if we were, we would have strongly objected to it for several reasons, including but not limited to, as lawyers might say, Ms. McDaniels' role in Donald Trump's fake elector scheme and her pressuring election officials to not certify election results while Donald Trump was on the phone."
"To be clear," added Brzezinski, "we believe NBC News should seek out conservative Republican voices to provide balance in their election coverage, but it should be conservative Republicans, not a person who used her position of power to be an anti-democracy election denier. We hope NBC will reconsider its decision. It goes without saying that she will not be a guest on 'Morning Joe' in her capacity as a paid contributor."
McDaniel made her inaugural appearance on NBC's "Meet the Press," where she was confronted with a supercut video of her own justification of Trump's efforts to subvert the 2020 election results, and Brzezinski reacted by covering her own face with her palm.
"Exhausting," she said.
"We don't need to sort through a lot here," Scarborough said. "Let's just focus in on what I think history will focus on, if you don't mind me stepping into your lane for a minute, because she really summed up the sickness in the Republican Party. When asked by [host] Kristen Welker, why did you go along with the whitewashing of political violence? Why didn't you speak out against those who tried to overturn American democracy, those who beat the hell out of cops, those who rioted at the United States Capitol at the instruction of Donald Trump, the guidance of Donald Trump, the inspiration of Donald Trump? Why not? She said, 'Sometimes you have to take one for the team.'"
"I suppose that's what Lindsey Graham will tell us after all of this is over, Marco Rubio – I can go down a list of once conservative Republicans who are now a member of Donald Trump's cult," Scarborough added. "I do think those words, take one for the team, when you're asked why you didn't stand up and speak out against political violence that was focused on overturning American democracy, I think those are words that, unfortunately, describe the Republican Party over the past seven years."
WASHINGTON — Some of former President Donald Trump’s fiercest allies in Congress may be multi-millionaires, but that doesn’t mean they’re opening up their wallets for the reality TV star turned contestant for America's most indicted.
“There’s only so much money,” Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) told Raw Story.
With creditors demanding a $454 million bond as his appeals slowly wind through the courts, Trump’s personal deficits have been the talk of the Capitol in recent days.
“Hopefully, I never get into that problem myself,” Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) told Raw Story while riding an elevator in the Capitol.
“You’re not planning to cut him a check?” Raw Story asked.
“No. I don't have enough. Mine would be just a blip,” Tuberville — who’s been estimated to have a net worth of around $20 million — said. “But if I could help, I’d help, maybe.”
Most Republicans on Capitol Hill now parrot the former president’s rhetoric, dismissing Trump’s legal problems as “lawfare” — think lawsuits instead of bullets — by the left and presenting him as a modern day martyr.
“Listen, I’m sympathetic with the lawfare that is being waged against him. Actually quite sympathetic. This is the price he's paying for being involved in politics and running for the office again,” Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) told Raw Story. “You could argue it's grossly unfair for him to have to pick up the full tab, so I personally don't have a problem with him explicitly asking for support.”
“Are you gonna donate?” Raw Story asked the former CEO worth an estimated $78 million.
“I've paid my price,” Johnson — who the Select Jan. 6 Committee implicated in helping carry out Wisconsin Republicans’ fake elector scheme in 2021 — said through a smile and chuckle.
While Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) is estimated to be worth more than $300 million — making him the wealthiest sitting U.S. senator — Trump shouldn’t come shaking his tin cup around the former chief executive of the Sunshine State.
“I’m optimistic he’ll figure it out. He's a pretty resourceful guy,” Scott (R-FL) told reporters just off the Senate floor Thursday.
“Would you donate?” Raw Story asked.
“He's a resourceful guy,” Scott answered with a laugh before heading into the chamber to vote.
Personal and political money troubles collide
Trump hasn’t directly asked his Senate allies to chip in to help him pay his civil penalties, fines and lawyers, which now top half a billion dollars — including interest, which Forbes reports is ticking up at $111,984 a day.
But the presumptive 2024 Republican presidential nominee finds himself in a potentially cataclysmic financial mess that mixes both his personal fortune and the finances of his presidential campaign.
During the past two years, Trump’s political operation has spent upward of $80 million on legal fees — an astounding sum for anyone, let alone a presidential candidate. Every dollar Trump’s political machine spends on his four separate criminal cases and various civil court matters is a dollar not spent on attacking Democrats or boosting Republicans.
Conversations in conservative circles have often focused on fundraising for Trump’s legal defense instead of beating President Joe Biden, which has some Republicans fearing the GOP will suffer up and down the ballot come November.
And while it’s still early in this general election and Trump’s poll numbers have looked decent, his fundraising has been anemic. Similarly, Biden’s poll numbers are lagging, even as his campaign coffers are overflowing.
Biden’s warchest is currently triple that of Trump's. The latest Federal Election Commission filings show Biden’s campaign and joint fundraising committee are sitting on $155 million compared to the $41.9 million cash on hand at Trump’s disposal. Such figures don't include money raised by committees the candidates don't directly control, such as supportive super PACs.
Trump may have had a good fundraising month in February, netting upward of $20 million in tandem with his joint fundraising committee, but he still found himself outraised by $3 million by former Gov. Nikki Haley (R-SC) before she dropped out of the GOP presidential primary — withholding both her endorsement and her dollars.
“I think we just have to look at the hard math. Democrats are hitting on all cylinders in terms of fundraising, so we've already got a structural challenge where we're not raising as much as them,” Sen. Tillis of North Carolina said as he entered an elevator in the Capitol. “These races are big races. They cost a lot of money. You gotta mobilize voters, so I'm sure it's a concern for them, too.”
Besides begging for longshot loans, selling off assets and engaging in other creative monetary maneuvers, the former president is now leaning on the sale of $399 gold sneakers and a GoFundMe with an eye-popping $355 million goal.
It’s still unclear if Trump can wiggle out of the straight jacket ensnaring him through the newly announced merger between his fledgling social media company, Truth Social, and Digital World Acquisition Corporation. While the deal could eventually net Trump some $3 billion, his hands are currently tied by an agreement constraining him from selling his shares for the next six months — when the earliest of 2024 early votes are slated to be cast.
Instead of focusing on his reelection, Fox News hosts, such as Laura Ingraham and Mark Levin, have been pushing their massive audiences to donate to Trump’s legal fund.
They’re not the only ones thinking about Donald’s debt these days.
'Trump’s a movement'
Per his usual, Trump has his fierce defenders who say everything’s fine.
“Trump’s a movement. It’s not just the candidate. He’s a movement,” Rep. Ryan Zinke (R-MT) — who served as Trump’s first Interior secretary until scandals ended his tenure in the executive branch — told Raw Story. “I'm not worried.”
“You gonna cut a check for his legal fund?” Raw Story inquired.
“I’ll support my president,” Zinke — who’s estimated to own assets topping $30 million — said.
Other rich Republicans also aren’t entirely slamming the door shut on providing future legal aid to Trump.
“I am confident the [former] president will be able to figure out how to manage his campaign and finances to be successful,” Sen. Pete Ricketts (R-NE) told Raw Story while walking through the Capitol.
While he may not be as wealthy as his Senate counterparts, Sen. Ted Budd (R-NC) has made millions through his gun store and firing range, which means he can’t give Trump in-kind donations because it’s illegal for the former president to even “receive” a firearm or ammunition while under felony indictments.
Budd’s not looking to arm Trump for warfare though.
“Oh my goodness, it's complete lawfare,” Budd (R-NC) told Raw Story on his way to a Senate vote.
The freshman senator dismisses fears from some in the GOP that Trump’s legal fundraising is handicapping the party ahead of November.
“No. Completely separate,” Budd said.
Many in the GOP are banking on Biden foiling his own reelection bid. They expect the grassroots to be there for Trump — no matter the mind-numbing sums he’s scrambling to raise — just as they’ve been there for him in past fundraising appeals.
“I think that his support that he has at the grassroots will give him the money he needs,” Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) told Raw Story. “And I think that there's a big anti-Biden movement. A downturn in money's not going to make a big difference.”
Other Republicans are indifferent or awkwardly distancing themselves from the troubled Trump — and the entire GOP through him, the party’s defendant-in-chief — brand.
“I haven’t thought about it at all,” Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) told Raw Story.
“I didn't know about that either,” Collins said in reference to the “bloodbath” earlier this month when Trump ousted Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel and installed his daughter-in-law, Lara Trump, as Republican National Committee — or RNC — co-chairwoman.
“Oh, yeah?” Raw Story asked. “Are you still a Republican?”
“It’s not uncommon when there's a new chair for there to be a major staff turnover,” Collins replied without answering our question.
RNC shakeup sends shivers through old Republican guard
Campaigns are more than dollars and cents though, and Trump’s ongoing personal shakeup of the RNC has unsettled many veteran Republicans.
Among country club Republicans and critics alike, this is just par for Trump’s political course.
“I don't think there's any norm or barrier that former President Trump won't be ready and willing to cross if it's in his personal, financial or egotistical interest,” Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) told Raw Story while walking to a vote on the Senate floor.
Romney is dismissed as a disloyal “Never Trump”-er by many in his own party. Besides McDaniel being his niece, the 2012 GOP presidential nominee is retiring at the end of this term.
Romney may be a critic, but he says he’s not given up on his party yet, even as the Republican Party has morphed into something unrecognizable from his time as the GOP standard-bearer.
Romney says he loves his party and fears Trump’s self-serving moves will be felt by conservatives for decades.
“The party has to exist beyond and after Donald Trump and I are gone, and so weakening the party, making it a personal appendage, is not a good thing,” Romney — who’s estimated to be worth more than $170 million, making him one of the top 10 wealthiest senators — said.
Even though he lost to then-President Barack Obama in 2012, Romney credits the RNC with helping turn out his supporters.
“It was a very helpful organization in turning out the vote, so it helped raise money for me and it turned out the vote. To win elections, it’s all about organization. Ground game still makes a difference,” Romney said. “Once I became the presumptive nominee, we worked hand in glove.”
Romney did that without placing any of his children at the helm of the RNC.
“Having family members serve in the administration looked like nepotism. Didn't seem to bother him. Didn't seem to bother the voters who put him there,” Romney said.
Not all Democrats are dancing
On the other side of the proverbial aisle, many liberal talking heads are giddy watching Trump scramble for millions and millions of pennies. But Democrats in tight races this fall know they can’t count on Trump’s legal woes to win.
Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT) is fighting for his political life in Montana. He’s raised upwards of $5 million four quarters in a row now, and he’s not letting up just because of Trump’s mounting legal bills.
“I don’t know that it makes a lot of difference, actually,” Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT) told Raw Story.
Democrats also have other fears.
“Depends on whether he’s busy raising money for his legal fees instead of for his campaign, but it does concern me that it will be added financial pressure compromising him,” Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) told Raw Story on his way to meetings on the Senate side of the Capitol Thursday.
Schiff, who recently clinched a spot on the ballot in California’s U.S. Senate general election in November, is a Harvard educated lawyer who was the impeachment manager for Trump’s first impeachment.
“He’s always been all about the money,” Schiff said. “But now there will be even greater risk that he trades American interests for money.”
Writing on Twitter, Morrow argued that reporters are "trying to create 'gotcha moments' out of old comments taken out of context, made in jest, or never made in the first place."
She argued that they're doing this to "hide the radicalism of the Democrat platform."
In reality, there is nothing in Morrow's old posts to indicate that she was speaking in jest.
In one post, Morrow responded to a question about whether she'd "follow Joe Biden's advice and wear a mask" to prevent the spread of COVID-19 by writing, "Never. We need to follow the Constitution's advice and KILL all TRAITORS!!!"
There is no section of the Constitution that discusses murdering public officials for advising that people wear masks to stop the spread of a disease that killed over one million Americans.
In another post, Morrow rejected the idea of throwing Obama into prison as being insufficiently extreme.
"I prefer a Pay Per View of him in front of the firing squad," she said. "I do not want to waste another dime on supporting his life. We could make some money back from televising his death."
"Do you still stand by your comments about former President Barack Obama and that he should be executed, calling for the death of of other presidents?" asked Prokupecz.
"Do you know that education is a problem in this entire country?" replied Morrow. "So maybe they need to focus on what's going on in your state of New York, which by the way is where I grew up. Maybe they need to focus on what's going on in California, where children are not getting the education that they need. Maybe they needed to focus on what they're doing in Michigan. Because right now in North Carolina, I'm focused on helping the families of North Carolina for their children to get quality education for them to be safe and for us to be sure that our money is going into the classroom rather than bureaucracies."
On Monday morning's edition of MSNBC's "Morning Joe," co-hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski questioned the value assigned to Donald Trump's Truth Social following a merger that was put to bed last Friday.
Noting the meager traffic the social media platform has drawn from users in its three years of existence, the hosts, along with MSNBC host Jonathan Lemire, were highly skeptical of its valuation north of $3 billion.
Scarborough kicked off the questioning by cutting to the chase and saying the publicly traded stock has the makings of being part of a scam that will leave some new investors holding the bag while Trump walks away with their cash.
"I'm not exactly sure how his Truth Social deal is going the way it is, but it looks like a Ponzi scheme to me," Scarborough began. "But I don't understand it. This is, though, a social media network that doesn't appear to be successful. Yet people are throwing around $5 billion here, $5 billion there. Does that provide Donald Trump an economic lifeline in the short term?"
"You're right about Truth Social," Lemire agreed. "It is a website that, frankly, no one uses. It has very little traction outside of the extreme MAGA right. It is where Trump continues to post since he was kicked off of Twitter after January 6th. I believe he's only posted one thing [on Twitter] since, which was his mugshot when he was indicted in Georgia last summer."
"He's still trying to drive interest to Truth Social," he continued. "It's not really working; there have been, you know, merger deals rumored for a couple of years now. It all fell apart."
"Where does this massive valuation come from?" Scarborough interjected.
"In a free and open and fair market, I mean, if you're just talking about economic considerations, who would invest in this company unless you were trying to curry favor with somebody who you think will be the next president of the United States," he added.
Lemire replied, "You hit it there. Someone trying to curry favor with who they believe will be the next president of the United States. We've seen people do that of late. With Truth Social, it is not a success by any measure."
Donald Trump's current legal troubles are cutting to the core of who he is as a person, according to a former official from his administration.
Former Homeland Security official Miles Taylor, who has claimed his home was targeted by a break-in shortly after he published a scathing "Anonymous" op-ed about Trump's presidency, appeared on CNN on Sunday.
The host asked Taylor about Monday, which he deemed "a nightmare day for Trump" because of a hearing likely to delve into the former president's private finances.
"Does it surprise you at all that it's come to this?" The host asked.
Taylor replied that it "doesn't surprise" him.
"I think you really can't overstate how much this is a nightmare for him," Taylor said. "I mean, folks that don't know the man might say it was impeachments or it was criminal investigations by the FBI or any number of other things that he has experienced all these other cases he's going through on classified documents or hush money. But Omar, it's his money that he cares the most about."
Taylor added that "Trump's entire identity is wrapped around this mirage of his business success."
"And to have that openly taken from him is something that won't just be an actual hit to his lifestyle. It will be a big political hit internally and externally. It will hit the man's ego and it will be used against him. And you're already seeing Joe Biden and his allies talk about a broke Donald Trump. It's something that really does resonate in a bad way with Donald Trump."
Donald Trump intentionally called for violence on Jan. 6 and he's poised to do it again, according to a former Republican lawmaker.
Former Republican congressman Joe Walsh appeared on MSNBC's Ayman on Sunday. He was asked if it's possible that Trump is preparing his supporters for a scenario in which he loses the upcoming election and seeks their help overturning it as he did in 2021.
"Now he has a much longer lead way to prepare his base of his for a hostile takeover," the host suggested.
"Let's say the truth, no matter how ugly it is," Walsh replied. "Donald Trump wanted January 6th to happen. Let's be clear about it. He wasn't indifferent toward it when it happened. He was gleeful. Trump purposely wanted there to be violence."
Walsh added that the American people "need to wrap their arms around that."
"When Donald Trump would say months before the 2020 election that the only way I can lose is if it will be stolen that is a direct call to his supporters that if he loses, you need to get violent," he said. "You rightly pointed out he's doing the same thing now. Months before the election, he's telling his voters it will be stolen, that is the only way I can lose. He wants there to be violence, period."
Donald Trump is furious at his civil and criminal cases and is looking for someone in his orbit to pin it on, according to the former engineer for Trump's construction projects.
Former Trump Organization Vice President Barbara Res appeared on CNN on Sunday, and was asked, from her experience working with Trump, what his mindset is like as he faces his first criminal trial and a bond deadline related to a massive fraud judgment.
"How important is it for Trump to keep his image of being the successful and rich businessman? What do you think is going through his mind tonight ahead of this bond deadline?" the host asked.
"Well, I think he's like so angry that this is happening to him, and he's looking for someone to blame," she said. "It is very important to him that he keep up this fantasy about him being the greatest businessman, and that's what he's concerned about now, actually."
Res added that the election is also on Trump's mind, but that "he thinks he's going to win" that one.
"He wants to keep that face, that public face," she added.
Res later noted that Trump "really does not want to look like a loser, so to speak."
Donald Trump on Sunday was met with sharp criticism on social media, not for being found liable for business fraud or sexual assault, but because of a brag about his golf trophies.
Trump, who earlier in the day raged against Fox News for its coverage of his civil fraud case, took to Truth Social to celebrate a purported golf victory.
"It is my great honor to be at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach tonight, AWARDS NIGHT, to receive THE CLUB CHAMPIONSHIP TROPHY & THE SENIOR CLUB CHAMPIONSHIP TROPHY. I WON BOTH!" Trump claimed.
"A large and golfing talented membership, a GREAT and difficult course, made the play very exciting. The qualifying and match play was amazing. A large and distinguished group will be there tonight. Very exciting, thank you!!!"
Columnist Molly Jong-Fast, @MollyJongFast, asked, "Do they just let him win everything lest he accuses the club of 'rigging?'"
Journalist Aaron Rupar wrote, "get a load of this effin’ guy."
A popular account by the name of Marlene Robertson, @marlene4719, said this:
"So Trump is off to his golf club to accept two golf awards. And can you f------ believe he won both awards! He wouldn’t 'rig it' would he?"
An account known as The Gardener, @hmcadena, chimed in as a means to debunk Trump's claims.
"I’m a golfer and belong to a private golf course. 77 year old men don’t win The Club Senior Championship, much less win the Club Championship," he said Sunday. "Of course the only people that believe trump (sic) won these tournaments are the same fools that believe his lies about winning in 2020."
Former federal and state prosecutor Ron Filipkowski also weighed in on Trump's post about golf.
"Speaking of things that are rigged," he said on Sunday.
Donald Trump on Sunday took to social media to attack a conservative network that has often had his back: Fox News.
Trump, who has had a hot-and-cold relationship with the right-wing media giant owned by the Rupert Murdoch family, posted his attack on Truth Social. The social network the ex-president created is rumored to be ready for a public offering, which could inject much-needed funds into Trump's accounts as he struggles to come up with bond money in a fraud case in which he was ordered to pay hundreds of millions of dollars.
"Don’t Like the way FoxNews is reporting the Letitia James Election Interference Scam," Trump said.
"They don’t want to discuss how ridiculous the Corrupt Judge’s fine of 450 Million Dollars is. It should be $ZERO. The only fraud was the valuation of Mar-a-Lago at $18,000,000 by the Crooked Judge in order to help his already fully debunked narrative."
Trump further claimed that the prosecution would one day have to pay him damages, instead of the other way around.
"They should pay me damages for what they have done, and ultimately will," the former president claimed. "THESE ARE NOT THE PEOPLE THAT MADE AMERICA GREAT, THESE ARE THE PEOPLE THAT ARE DESTROYING AMERICA!"
Trump did not name the specific Fox program or host he had a problem with.
Eric Trump is spreading false information about his father's bond in the fraud case in which the former president was ordered to pay hundreds of millions of dollars.
Trump, who earlier in the day toldFox News that top insurance executives laughed when he asked for more than $400 million in bond money for his father, later took to social media to make a similar complaint about the size of the bond.
"A half a billion dollar bond is simply not commercially available," Donald Trump's son said on Sunday. "The 30 largest bonding companies in the United States have never seen a bond close to this size for anyone, let alone a private company."
" Letitia James is hellbent on a political vendetta against my father with zero regard for the lives of thousands of hard-working New Yorkers, who make their living in our buildings."
But not so fast, legal analyst Lisa Rubin chimed in. Rubin is a former litigator who frequently appears on MSNBC's programs.
"As Eric Trump insists the bond his dad needs to stay enforcement of Tish James’s judgment is 'not commercially available,' let’s zero in on what’s not quite accurate here," she said on Sunday. "First, there is no requirement that their bond come from a single surety or lender. A syndicate of sureties or underwriters can collectively post the bond; the AG even cites real-life examples of such bonds where judgment approximates or exceeds the one at issue here."
Eric Trump was also wrong about another part of his statement, according to the expert.
"Second, do not give credence to the notion that this would be the biggest bond ever. Yes, hyperbole is a Trump specialty—but here, again, the NYAG has counterexamples of several $1 billion-plus bonds as well," Rubin wrote.
