It's become a parlor game to guess which Trump properties and assets New York Attorney General Letitia James will begin seizing Monday, assuming the Malignant Loser isn't able to post a $464 million bond over the massive business fraud judgement against him. Many would like to see Trump Tower or one of his golf clubs seized, Merdo o' Lardo, too (although that won't happen as explained below.) What's most likely is that James will go after liquid assets: bank accounts and personal property that can be sold fairly quickly, like automobiles, art work, and airplanes. Politico's Erica Orden lays out the likely steps:
"Monday marks the end of a 30-day grace period that James granted Trump, and she has said she is prepared to act.
'If he does not have funds to pay off the judgment, then we will seek judgment enforcement mechanisms in court, and we will ask the judge to seize his assets,' she told ABC News last month. And James has already taken preliminary steps: She has filed the Manhattan judgment in neighboring Westchester County, a precursor to any enforcement actions there.
But even if Trump fails to obtain a bond by the deadline, don’t expect to see James or her deputies immediately marching over to Trump Tower to change the locks.
For one thing, seizing Trump’s assets will require James to go back to court to get a judge’s approval to gain access to Trump’s property.
And for another, James likely wouldn’t start by targeting his real estate holdings, said legal experts. She is more likely to begin by seizing his bank accounts, which would give her direct access to cash, rather than an asset she would need to liquidate." [snip]
After going after Trump’s bank accounts, James would likely then move on to seizing either Trump’s personal property — planes, cars, jewelry, artwork — or real estate, such as Trump Tower, 40 Wall Street or the Trump National Doral golf resort.
James isn’t limited to seizing assets that were the subject of her office’s lawsuit against Trump. She can seek to seize almost any assets owned by Trump and the other defendants (including his two adult sons), even assets located in other states or other countries, depending on the nature of a country’s treaty with the United States." (our emphasis)
That puts his international golf clubs potentially on the list, like the tanking golf courses at Turnberry and Aberdeenshire, Scotland. However, they are unlikely targets. as their seizure would involve cumbersome negotiations with local entities and investors. Merde o' Lardo is probably out of reach, due to Florida homestead laws which prohibit seizure of a person's residence. Another factor in James' consideration is how much of a specific property the Malignant Loser owns, as he's highly leveraged and may own less that half of a number of properties.
We're roughly 48 hours away from the start of the seizure of the Malignant Loser's assets, and whatever the choices Letitia James makes, it will warm our hearts.
(photos: Bonnie Biess / Getty Images, Oliver Contreras / SIPA USA Bloomberg via Getty)
