How a lot does Donald Trump owe and can he must pay?

A New York decide ordered Trump and his firms Friday to pay $355 million in fines, plus interest, after ruling that he had manipulated his web price in monetary statements.

The stiff penalty comes simply weeks after Trump was ordered to pay $83.3 million to the author E. Jean Carroll for damaging her repute after she accused him of sexual assault. A separate jury final 12 months awarded Carroll $5 million from Trump for sexual abuse and defamation.

Add curiosity funds on prime of that and the judgments may deal a staggering blow to the non-public fortune that continues to be core to Trump’s political enchantment. He has adamantly denied wrongdoing and pledged to enchantment, a course of that might take months and even years.

Within the meantime, right here’s what we find out about what Trump owes, whether or not he’ll must pay up, and what comes subsequent:

How a lot cash does Trump owe now?

The decision within the civil fraud trial requires Trump to pay curiosity on among the deal earnings he has been ordered to surrender. New York Lawyer Common Letitia James, who introduced the case, mentioned the curiosity funds totaled $99 million and would “continue to increase every single day until it is paid.”

Between Friday’s ruling and the 2 judgments in Carroll’s case, Trump can be on the hook for about $542 million in authorized judgments.

Trump owes one other $110,000 for refusing to comply with a subpoena within the civil fraud case and $15,000 for repeatedly disparaging the decide’s legislation clerk in violation of a gag order. As a part of Friday’s ruling, the decide additionally ordered each of Trump’s sons to pay $4 million apiece.

Trump’s court-ordered money owed don’t finish there. Final month, he was ordered to pay almost $400,000 in legal fees to The New York Occasions after suing the newspaper unsuccessfully. He’s at present interesting a judgment of $938,000 in opposition to him and his legal professional for submitting what a judge described as a “frivolous” lawsuit in opposition to Hillary Clinton.

Can he get any of those judgments lowered?

It’s not unusual for the scale of judgments, significantly high-dollar quantities, to be lowered on appeals.

The enchantment in Trump’s civil fraud case will go earlier than an intermediate-level courtroom first. If it returns an unfavorable ruling, Trump may attempt to get the case taken up by New York’s prime appellate courtroom, although authorized specialists say that’s unlikely.

How shortly does Trump must pay?

Trump has already deposited $5 million owed to Carroll for the primary defamation case right into a court-controlled account, together with an extra $500,000 in curiosity required by New York legislation. Carroll is not going to have entry to the funds till the appeals course of performs out.

He might quickly be pressured to do the identical for the $83.3 million judgment within the second Carroll verdict. Alternatively, he may safe a bond and pay solely a portion up entrance — although that possibility would include curiosity and costs and sure require some type of collateral. Trump must discover a monetary establishment keen to entrance him the cash.

Within the civil fraud case, will probably be as much as the courts to determine how a lot Trump should put up as he mounts his enchantment. And he could also be required to pay the total sum instantly after the appellate courtroom guidelines, which may come as quickly as this summer season, in response to College of Michigan legislation professor Will Thomas.

“New York’s judicial system has shown a willingness to move quickly on some of these Trump issues,” Thomas mentioned. “When we hear from the first appellate court, that’s a point where money is almost certainly going to change hands.”

Can Trump afford to pay?

Trump has claimed he’s price over $10 billion. Most estimates, together with an evaluation by the New York legal professional normal, put that determine nearer to $2 billion.

In his 2021 assertion of economic situation, Trump mentioned he had slightly below $300 million in “cash and cash equivalents.” He has since made a variety of gross sales, together with his New York golf course and his Washington, D.C., resort, and may additionally quickly get a windfall when his social media firm, Reality Social, goes public.

However even with these revenue streams, it’s unclear whether or not Trump and his relations have sufficient money available to pay all the cash they now owe.Might he use marketing campaign contributions — or PAC cash — to pay?

Federal election legislation prohibits the usage of marketing campaign funds for private use. However the guidelines are far murkier with regards to tapping political motion committees — or PACs — for a candidate’s bills.

Over the past two years, Trump’s Save America political motion committee, his presidential marketing campaign and his different fundraising organizations have devoted $76.7 million to authorized charges. Marketing campaign finance specialists anticipate Trump will attempt to spend PAC cash to defray the price of his judgments in a roundabout way.

“The likelihood of the Federal Election Commission in its current configuration pursuing these violations is not terribly great,” mentioned Daniel Weiner, director of the Brennan Heart’s Elections and Authorities Program.Can he or his companies declare chapter?

Below the decide’s ruling Friday, Trump would nonetheless be liable to pay even when the Trump Group declares chapter. If Trump personally declared chapter, the enforcement of the judgment in opposition to him can be paused. However political commenters say such a drastic step is unlikely.

Although a number of of his earlier firms have gone bankrupt, Trump has repeatedly bragged about the truth that he has by no means, personally, declared chapter.

What if Trump merely refuses to pay the cash?

Legally, Trump would face the identical penalties as any American refusing to pay a authorized judgment, together with the opportunity of having his belongings seized and his wages garnished.

“The president is not a king and the president’s assets are not sacrosanct just because he happened to be the president,” Weiner mentioned.

On Friday, the decide overseeing Trump’s civil fraud case appointed an extra monitor to supervise the Trump Group’s funds, discovering they may not be trusted to comply with the legislation. Within the occasion that Trump refused handy over funds, the courts would have extra discretion to go after Trump and his companies.

“They have a huge amount of power particularly for someone like Trump who has physical assets inside the state,” Thomas, the legislation professor, mentioned. “The court might say we’re going to freeze your bank account. Or even worse, they could say, ’We’re seizing Trump Tower and we’re putting it up for sale.’”