Digesting Mr. Trump’s civil troubles

Dear Readers, Civil discourse about Donald Trump is nigh impossible. Nevertheless, as voters, we need to grapple with the consequences of the civil cases decided against him.

Mr. Trump likes to reduce lawsuits against him as political “witch hunts.” He likes to brag about being a multi-billionaire. When it comes to civil litigation, even the rich have to pay the pauper when juries render monetary verdicts against them. This reality may be slowly seeping its way into the Trump orbit.  

A legal log is rolling downhill, picking up steam, and right to Donald Trump’s pocketbook. A principal in the law is called “collateral estoppel,” which simply means that prior court factual findings are binding on future cases. Brick by brick, little by little, court verdicts are building on each other.

Concerning his “brand,” a criminal jury has found the Trump Organization guilty of fraud. This is being appealed, but at present, the legal fact is the Trump Organization is a criminally fraudulent enterprise.  

New York Superior Court Judge Arthur Engoron is mulling a civil verdict on a case brought by Letitia James, New York’s Attorney General. She and her staff are seeking damages because of the fraud. Judge Engoron has already found fraud, as a matter of law, based on the record submitted to him pre-trial. He is deciding if there is liability from the other counts in the complaint Ms. James filed.

Mr. Trump’s legal team’s arguments and evidence submitted were legally impotent. For example, in defending on damages, Mr. Trump’s attorneys argued (and he in social media) that any financial puffery or shenanigans harmed no one. This matters not, as the alleged civil fraud is not about anyone being harmed; it is the existence of deceit.

As a result of this lawsuit, Mr. Trump’s finances are frozen and subject to a court-appointed receiver reviewing the Trump Organization and approving its financial activities. This also means that all organization assets to which Mr. Trump might need access are beyond his reach without approval by the receiver (a former judge). This has consequences.

E. Jean Carroll originally filed a defamation lawsuit in Federal Court against then-President Trump for defamatory statements during his presidency. It was premised on him lying about sexually assaulting her. The United States Justice Department originally defended Mr. Trump while he was President. When he lost reelection, the DOJ declined to continue to represent him, and Ms. Carroll’s lawsuit was liberated. 

Meanwhile, Ms. Carroll filed a second lawsuit alleging she was raped and a second round of defamation for statements made post-Presidency. This was also filed in Federal Court because of something called “diversity,” as Mr. Trump had since changed his residency to Florida.  

This case went to trial first. A jury unanimously found that Mr. Trump had indeed sexually assaulted Ms. Carroll and defamed her. They awarded her a total of $5 million in damages. Until a possible reversal of the jury verdict, it is a fact that Mr. Trump raped and assaulted Ms. Carroll, and he defamed her as President.

Mr. Trump promptly appealed. To do so, he had to “post” the entire amount awarded (plus interest) and deposit this in a court escrow account. 

This brings us to the recent unanimous jury verdict against him in the second defamation case (the first filed), awarding Ms. Carroll $83.3 million in damages. This jury was only considering damages; the prior verdict prevented Mr. Trump from denying he raped or defamed Ms. Carroll. The first verdict decided these facts, and the only issue was how high the damages awarded would be.

Once again, he can appeal and “post” (or have someone post for him) the entire $83.3 million plus interest, testing how much cash he has lying around. Further, because of Judge Engoron’s findings, he may not sell Trump Organization assets to do so. Further still, if Ms. James gets what she wants (hundreds of millions of dollars in disgorgement and fines), Mr. Trump may have to post another massive verdict if he intends to appeal.

The point of this is that never mind if Mr. Trump is in prison before November, he may very well be penniless or a part of the largest “Go Fund Me” effort in history. The question for us as voters is if electing a broke Donald Trump is wise for the country. A broke President could create much mischief.

Warner Robins attorney Jim Rockefeller is the former Chief Assistant District Attorney for Houston County and a former Assistant State Attorney in Miami. Owner of Rockefeller Law Center, Jim has been in private practice since 2000. E-mail your comments or confidential legal questions to ajr@rockefellerlawcenter.com.

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