Trump's legal debts top a half-billion dollars. Will he have to pay?
Donald Trump’s legal debts might now exceed a half-billion dollars
NEW YORK — Donald Trump's legal debts might now exceed a half-billion dollars.
A New York judge ordered Trump and his companies Friday to pay $355 million in fines, plus interest, after ruling that he had manipulated his net worth in financial statements.
The stiff penalty comes just weeks after Trump was ordered to pay $83.3 million to the writer E. Jean Carroll for damaging her reputation after she accused him of sexual assault. A separate jury last year awarded Carroll $5 million from Trump for sexual abuse and defamation.
Add interest payments on top of that and the judgments could deal a staggering blow to the personal fortune that remains core to Trump's political appeal. He has adamantly denied wrongdoing and pledged to appeal, a process that could take months or even years.
In the meantime, here’s what we know about what Trump owes, whether he’ll have to pay up, and what comes next:
The verdict in the civil fraud trial requires Trump to pay interest on some of the deal profits he has been ordered to give up. New York Attorney General Letitia James, who brought the case, said the interest payments totaled $99 million and would “continue to increase every single day until it is paid.”
Between Friday’s ruling and the two judgments in Carroll’s case, Trump would be on the hook for about $542 million in legal judgments.
Trump owes another $110,000 for refusing to comply with a subpoena in the civil fraud case and $15,000 for repeatedly disparaging the judge’s law clerk in violation of a gag order. As part of Friday’s ruling, the judge also ordered both of Trump’s sons to pay $4 million apiece.
Trump's court-ordered debts don't end there. Last month,
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