Maybe you've walked past 40 Wall Street in New York or parred the second hole at a famous ex-President's golf club in Jupiter, Florida. There's a grand hotel in Las Vegas and a sprawling waterfront estate in Palm Beach, Florida.
All of these Donald Trump properties could be in the hands of the state of New York as early as next week, Newsweek editor and show host Josh Hammer explained on American Family Radio Thursday.
"… The case in Colorado that tried to disqualify [Donald Trump] from the ballot was probably the most legally outrageous [of all the lawfare against him] – and it was just swatted down 9-0 at the Supreme Court in the Trump v. Anderson case," Hammer told show host Jenna Ellis. "But of all the cases out there, to me the most harrowing and bone-chilling is this civil fraud case in New York State."
Trump faces a Monday deadline to post a $454 million bond in the civil fraud case brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James. He has approached more than 30 firms to secure the bond but is facing "insurmountable difficulties" to get the support, his attorneys wrote in court filings this week in an effort to get out from under the bond, the New York Post reports.
Hammer says what's happening to Trump is a gross denial of due process, which is the right of every American to be judged in formal proceedings in accordance with established rules and principles.
"Your mileage may vary when it comes to some of these other cases. I don't really care what your political party or political persuasion is: what's happening in this particular case – the denial of due process when it comes to your right to appeal [and] the outrageous judgment – it's just awful. It's patently un-American. I do think it's entirely possible that we could start seeing some asset seizures as soon as next week."
Regardless of outcome, there's political baggage
The due process argument aside, what's happening to Donald Trump in New York will carry political baggage, some observers say. Democrats apparently are already working to create the image. In a column for The Daily Mail Thursday, Hammer highlighted two instances:
"'You-know-who says he cannot come up with the cash,'" gushed Whoopi Goldberg on 'The View' Wednesday," he wrote.
Then Joe Biden himself got into the act:
"President Joe Biden couldn't resist twisting the knife when he spoke at a Democrat fundraiser Wednesday night. 'Just the other day this defeated looking man came up to me and said: 'Mr. President, I need your help. I'm in crushing debt. I'm completely wiped out,' Biden joked.
His punchline: 'Donald, I'm sorry. I can't help you.'
"The crowd roared. Isn't it hysterical when the legal system targets your opponent?" Hammer wrote.
Then back to one of Goldberg's co-hosts:
"'I can't wait to see the chains on Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue. I'm kind of excited about it,' The View's Sunny Hostin squealed,'" Hammer wrote.
It's not that the court's ruling has broken Trump. Potential underwriters are seeking cash, not properties, to back the bond, his lawyers say.
Selling off real estate for cash won't be an easy thing before the deadline. If it can be done, it won't leave Trump dealing from an advantage position – which means the properties would potentially generate less cash.
Democrats howl, but will they get the last laugh?
If there's a way to turn Donald Trump into a sympathetic figure, Letitia James may have found it. But Democrats may not have the last laugh, Hammer says. In his column, he suggests that avowed "Never Trumpers" throughout the land, presumably with assets of their own, could swing to Trump in ways they haven't to date.
"What these unhinged Leftists don't understand – and never will – is that they are shooting themselves in the foot. Nothing's better for Republican unity than Democratic lunacy.
"If anything will convince stubborn Never-Trumpers to overcome their misgivings and vote for the ex-president this November, it's this brazen, extra-legal, nation-destroying madness. Yes, it appears Trump inflated his assets. And fraud is never acceptable. But it is nearly half-a-billion dollars bad?" Hammer wrote.
Hammer cited recent cases in New York State where bail demands were millions less than Trump's and for more damaging crimes.
"Put this penalty in perspective – Bitcoin fraudster Sam Bankman-Fried's bail was $250 million, and that was for a criminal, not a civil case like Trump's.
"Notorious Ponzi-schemer Bernie Madoff's bail was initially set at $10 million – and prosecutors eased the terms after he failed to secure it.
"Those men were potential flight risks who harmed real victims. They deserved a burdensome bail.
"But Trump is running for President, so he's not fleeing anywhere. And there are no victims in this supposed crime of the century. No financial institution lost money lending to the Trump Organization – and no one claimed to have been deceived, let alone 'defrauded,' by the Trump Organization," he wrote.
The blowback coming for New York
The election notwithstanding, Hammer predicts there's a big blow to the state of New York coming from this.
"Think about the possible mid- to long-term ramifications when it comes to selling and tamping down possible investments," he stated. "I mean, if you are an entrepreneur trying to be the next Jeff Bezos or Mark Zuckerburg, why in the world would you try to launch a business out of your garage in New York state if you know the AG can say, 'Oh, no, I didn't like the way that you valued your assets here; and if you try to secure this loan, I'm just going to file a massive lawsuit to shut you down.'
"The whole thing is absurdly harrowing," Hammer told Ellis.
