PREVIEW: Trump's Awful Week Ahead

Could it bankrupt him?

(Donald Trump)

Think last week sucked for Donald Trump? Look at what’s expected ahead this week… the details are damning. 👇

Last week was, um, not great for Donald Trump.

He lost a defamation lawsuit against E. Jean Carroll – and a jury awarded her more than $83 million in damages.

Oomph.

But, here’s the thing: This week is already shaping up to be worse for Trump.

Consider:

1. On Monday, Alina Habba, Trump’s lawyer in the defamation case, sent a letter to the court claiming a conflict of interest. That conflict? That Roberta Kaplan, Carroll’s lawyer, had worked with U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan (no relation) at a big law firm in the 1990s. “We are going to include this in our appeal and take appropriate measures,” Habba told the New York Post. “The fact it wasn’t disclosed is an ethics violation.” 

Except… Kaplan responded with her own letter in which she made clear that while she did overlap with the other Kaplan for a brief period in the early 1990s, she could not recall ever interacting with him. “Needless to say, at no point have we ever had a ‘mentor’ type relationship,' as alleged by Ms. Habba,” wrote Kaplan.

By Tuesday, Habba was backtracking. In a subsequent letter to the judge, she wrote: “Since Ms. Kaplan has now denied that there was ever a mentor-mentee relationship between herself and Your Honor, this issue has seemingly been resolved.”

Which, HA! 😂😂😂

2. As soon as tomorrow, Trump could face a massive financial penalty for over-valuing his assets for decades in a New York court.

Remember that Judge Arthur Engoron has already ruled that Trump committed fraud between 2011 and 2021 by drastically overvaluing his various real estate properties to secure favorable loan terms and the like.

At issue now is a) how much Trump will have to pay for that fraud and b) whether Engoron orders Trump’s business in New York dissolved. (Both options are on the table.)

New York Attorney General Letitia James has asked for a $370 million penalty, a massive sum that she says would make up for Trump’s past fraud.

Trump finances expert Dan Alexander, who writes for Forbes, told CNN that these sorts of huge financial penalties could leave Trump in the lurch.

“He can pay this," Alexander said of the Carroll defamation award. “Right now he does have about $400 million in liquid assets. And so, sure, $83 million would hurt, but yeah, he can pay it.” But, Alexander added that if the New York ruling goes against Trump, “then all of a sudden he could find himself in a real cash crunch.”

And, don’t forget what the New York Times’ deep dive into Trump’s past tax returns revealed.

First, that Trump claimed a $72.9 million refund with the IRS that is currently the subject of an audit. And, second, that he is personally responsible for $421 million in loans that are coming due.

The simple fact is that while Trump is, without question, a billionaire (although far less rich than he claims), he does not have billions in liquid wealth sloshing around. An adverse ruling in New York would stretch — maybe to the point of breaking — Trump’s current financial situation.

Now, we don’t know when Engoron will rule — or whether he will grant James’ request — in full, or in part — in terms of the financial penalty.

But, what’s clear is that judgment is coming for Trump — and he is represented by someone who, um, may not be the cream of the attorney crop.

Not great, Bob!

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