'This Is No Joke': Michael Cohen Reveals New Threat Posed By Trump's Cash Crunch
Michael Cohen, a former longtime personal attorney to Donald Trump, said the former president’s struggle to come up with the money to post bond in New York makes one thing very clear.
“It tells you he’s not nearly as rich as he’s sold himself to the American people,” Cohen said on MSNBC on Monday night.
Trump’s attorneys on Monday said he can’t post the $464 million bond needed to appeal his conviction in the civil fraud case. Thirty bond companies all declined to post the cash, he said in a court statement, making it “a practical impossibility” to post the money by the March 25 deadline.
“He’s right, it’s effectively impossible,” Cohen said, noting that much of Trump’s worth is tied up in real estate. Selling the properties would take time and would also lead to a host of additional financial issues, including taxes and mortgage payments.
But as Cohen pointed out, Trump had claimed in court that he has cash assets of at least $400 million.
“If that’s true, post the $400 million and get the balance,” Cohen said. “And if it’s not true, who knows, maybe it could be a perjury charge.”
Cohen said Trump’s cash crunch could lead to a dangerous situation for the nation if he gets the money from foreign interests.
“It leaves a presidential candidate basically owing a foreign entity, all at the expense of America’s national security,” he said. “This is no joke. This places our national security in jeopardy and continues to make Donald Trump the single most dangerous thing in America to our national security and democracy.”
See Cohen’s full conversation with MSNBC below:
Bloomberg last year estimated Trump’s net worth at $3.1 billion, but Trump has a long history of exaggerating his personal wealth, claims that played a key role in the fraud case.
If Trump is unable to post the bond by March 25 and fails to reach any other agreement with the court, New York Attorney General Letitia James will be able to begin to seize his assets.
Cohen served as Trump’s personal attorney and fixer for years, but eventually turned on his former boss as he cooperated with investigators and testified to Congress.
He ultimately pleaded guilty to campaign finance violations, lying to Congress and other charges — all done on behalf of Trump, he has said — and was sentenced to three years in prison.
