New York Attorney General Letitia James has made it clear that if the courts don't intervene in her plans to seize former President Donald Trump's assets, she will begin that process as soon as Monday. And it's likely she'll start with his cash.
In a Friday report, Politico's Erica Orden broke down how James would begin with her asset seizure. Assuming Trump's appeal for a last-minute stay is unsuccessful, the New York Attorney General's office would then seek Judge Arthur Engoron's approval to access the former president's bank accounts.
"In order to seize a defendant’s bank accounts, a judgment creditor typically first goes through a discovery process to identify where they are. Then the creditor asks the banks to freeze the accounts — and asks a judge to have the money in the accounts turned over," Orden explained, adding that the typical process for asset seizures involves "a brief hearing and then a decision within about a week."
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The appeal is not likely to yield results in Trump's favor. Former federal prosecutor Mitchell Epner told Politico that defendants after adjudication usually have "extraordinarily limited appeal rights" that he's "never seen anybody pursue."
But because the ex-president has already essentially admitted that he doesn't have the cash to cover the judgment, James' seizure of Trump's bank accounts is just the beginning. At that point, she would then file a lien against any property she deems necessary to satisfy the judgment, and then the court would appoint someone to oversee the sale of the property with all proceeds going toward the State of New York. But James isn't limited to just seizing New York properties, and Trump owns multiple pieces of valuable real estate in several US states.
"They can go after any assets anywhere," New York-based criminal defense attorney Adam Konta told Politico.
However, in order to seize an asset out of state — like Trump's casino hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada, for example — James' seizure would have to be "domesticated" by a judge within that state. And former Manhattan prosecutor Diana Florence said that James isn't likely to be able to seize Mar-a-Lago in Florida, as it's Trump's primary residence.
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If James wants to seize any asset to satisfy the judgment, creditors overseeing the process would deputize local sheriffs to physically take any property, including buildings, vehicles, golf resorts or even Trump's private jet. Sheriffs would likely coordinate with the former president's Secret Service detail to ensure they have access to properties affected by the judgment.
And while Trump is likely to net a multibillion-dollar windfall from his Truth Social platform's initial public offering (IPO), he's unlikely to use the cash from that deal to pay the judgment. According to language from the IPO, Trump is prohibited from actually using the cash from his shares in the company as collateral or judgment payment for six months.
The alleged billionaire has been fighting tooth and nail to prevent James from seizing his properties, including pleas to his supporters asking for their money. In a recent email appeal entitled "Keep your filthy hands off Trump tower," Trump complained that "Insane radical Democrat AG Letitia James wants to SEIZE my properties in New York," including "the iconic Trump Tower."
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