George Washington University law professor Jonathan Turley said Friday that former President Donald Trump was “not likely” to see his properties seized by Democratic Attorney General Letitia James of New York.
James filed judgments against Trump and others in Westchester County, New York, where Trump owns a private estate in Seven Springs and the Trump National Golf Club Westchester, Friday. Turley said that James could find seizing the properties much more difficult than she thought
“These properties are partnerships, they have leveraged debt. All of that has to be unraveled,” Turley told Fox Business host Larry Kudlow. “So these aren’t just this, you know, one to one Trump versus James type of equation. So in order to seize that property, she’s going to be pulled into court, there’s going to be challenges. It’s not going to happen overnight. Everyone is celebrating this idea that she’s going to padlock Trump Tower. It’s not likely to happen, and it’s certainly not likely to remain very long.”
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“The other thing is that she could be harming the value of the property that she’s trying to seize with some of these actions,” Turley continued. “I don’t think that matters to her, but it might matter to a court.”
Trump’s attorneys said Monday the former president was having difficulty posting a bond of over $450 million to cover the judgment in a civil fraud case issued by New York Judge Arthur Engoron. Trump stands to gain at least $3 billion from the merger of Digital World Acquisition Corporation (DWAC) with the Trump Media and Technology Group (TMTG) that was approved by DWAC shareholders Friday.
Turley also noted that the damages could be reduced by appellate courts. “There is an issue here of the Eighth Amendment. There’s also an issue of due process. In addition to that line of cases, which is rather thin, so this is going to be new ground for the courts to deal with, so this is sort of unsettled,” Turley said. “But there’s also the due process question. The court – the Supreme Court has on rare occasion stepped into state cases and said this is such a sort of over-the-top damage figure that it violates due process.”
“New York is unique, I think, in this case, because they have made even the bond confiscatory, so, it’s not just the damages, but the bond rule that seem to be punitive and it’s certainly the use by James and this judge,” Turley added. “So those are going to be viable challenges, and it could go all the way to the Supreme Court.”
Harold Hutchison on March 22, 2024
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