Donald Trump filed 5000 pages of paper in court Monday to argue that one week is not enough time to raise the staggering ½ billion dollars he owes the state of New York. The money is due on last month’s civil fraud judgment resulting from a lawsuit filed by New York Attorney General Letitia James.
Trump’s attorneys say that meeting the deadline is a “practical impossibility,” despite the former president’s “ongoing diligent efforts.” Considering Trump’s penchant for choosing dishonesty over honesty almost every time, does anyone still believe he’s engaged in ‘diligent efforts?’
Perhaps the former president will announce another fundraiser. Maybe he’ll continue to get funds from Save America, a PAC he founded and controls—you know—the one that paid out over $50 Million in contributor dollars to pay Trump’s 2023 legal fees resulting from his growing list of civil and criminal legal cases.
Or, maybe he’ll seek reimbursement from the Make America Great Again Pac or other “Make America Great” political action organizations. According to OpenSecrets, a nonprofit campaign funds tracker, Trump has raided these Pacs to the tune of $60 Million or more since 2016.
Aren’t campaign finance funds supposed to fund campaigns? Perhaps someone should ask the Federal Election Commission (FEC) to step in. Isn’t the FEC supposed to enforce campaign finance laws? According to its own website, the FEC’s mission is to protect the integrity of the federal campaign finance process by providing transparency and fairly enforcing and administering federal campaign finance laws.
In 2018, after Trump campaign hush money payments to porn star Stormy Daniels became public knowledge, Trump’s attorney, Michael Cohen, pleaded guilty to two campaign finance crimes and was sentenced to three years in prison. At the same time, American Media, Inc. (AMI) acknowledged its own campaign finance violation in making an illegal corporate campaign donation to Trump (money paid to Daniels). AMI entered into a non-prosecution deal with the Department of Justice.
Do you wonder why the company wasn’t prosecuted? This was Trump’s Justice Department, not Joe Biden’s. Need I say more? At the time, as usual, Trump avoided prosecution for campaign finance crimes.
As a general rule, campaign contributor funds may not be tapped for the personal use of a candidate or officeholder. The FEC defines ‘personal use” as expenses unrelated to a candidate’s or officeholder’s duties. In other words, Trump could not finance a real estate venture with the money, pay for his grandchild’s education, or purchase a Brazilian Butt Lift for Melania. However, FEC advisory opinions are far less clear about legal expenses, especially if they are connected to a campaign or officeholder’s relevant actions. The FEC handles these on a ‘case by case basis.’
It’s hard to understand how hush money payments to a porn star would qualify, but, hey, it’s Trump! The FEC, time and again, has allowed, shall we say, unusual legal expense exceptions. Legal fees for Trump’s deceitful efforts to overturn the 2020 election or defending his retention of classified documents after leaving office might qualify. Trump’s legal team will probably claim that hush money to Daniels qualifies. After all, the money was used to hide elements of Trump’s disgusting personal life and prevent those elements from damaging his 2016 campaign. Might these be ‘campaign relevant’ activities? Who knows?
The good news is that these exception don’t seem to apply to the New York business fraud case or the E. Jean Carroll sexual assault and defamation cases. As stated previously, the two combined cases require payment of over ½ billion dollars. I am almost certain that these expenses will be considered “personal,” and unrelated to either Trump’s time in office or his pursuit of that office.
Too bad for Dangerous Donald, right? Well . . . maybe. Trump has a ‘leadership PAC’ (Save America), an independent 3rd party that may use its funds for the candidate’s personal use so long as those funds are irrespective of the candidate’s run for office. There is no limit on how much of these funds can be spent on a candidate’s personal expenses.
With pre-judgment interest, New York State’s judgment against the former president jumps to $453.5 Million. Interest is growing at a rate of $112,000 per day. The E. Jean Carroll verdicts, with interest, are now approximately $92 Million and growing. Dangerous, Indecent Donald (D.I.D) will soon be knocking on your door, hat in hand, begging for money. He’ll tell a racist, homophobic, Islamophobic, or anti-Semitic joke. He’ll invent a disrespectful name for the president of the United States. He’ll repeat the lie that America is in decline or scream about a border problem he instructed Speaker Johnson to ignore. He’ll offer to build a wall, set up a photo session with Putin or the strongman of your choice, and provide more tax breaks for the rich.
Trump Can't Pay; Donors Beware
But taxes help fund infrastructure fixes, the military, and other important government programs. Donor dollars to D.I.D help only you-know-who. I recently wrote an op-ed asking donors this question: Would you rather spend donated funds on initiatives that save women’s lives, or on appeal bonds for a man judged guilty of fraud, defamation, and sexual battery?
Trump can't pay, so donors beware! Let’s use our dollars and our vote wisely in 2024.
Please check out Mark Bello’s ripped-from-the-headlines legal thrillers, all available online at Amazon and other major online booksellers. He has quite the hero in Attorney Zachary Blake, who fights for justice on all fronts. His books are Betrayal of Faith, Betrayal of Justice, Betrayal in Blue, Betrayal in Black, Betrayal High, Supreme Betrayal, Betrayal at the Border, You Have the Right to Remain Silent, The Final Steps – A Harbor Springs Cozy Legal Mystery, and his latest, The Anti-Semite Next Door. Also, he’s written a wonderful children’s book about bullying, “Happy Jack, Sad Jack,” and he's just announced the pre-order release of "Love Hate Law," a new legal romance novel. For more info, just check markmbello.com.