Former White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham proposed a list of properties former President Trump would be most disappointed to have seized if he cannot pay the damages in his civil fraud case.
“I think if it were to happen, 40 Wall Street is probably the one that he would … I mean, he would hate it,” Grisham told CNN’s Erin Burnett on Monday. “But I think if she tried to seize Mar-a-Lago or Bedminster or Trump Tower even — I mean, those are his babies.”
“You’ve got the Sterling golf course in Virginia. Any of the properties with golf courses, I think, would absolutely devastate him,” added Grisham, who worked under the Trump administration. “It will be interesting to see what [New York Attorney General Letitia James] goes for.”
In court filings Monday, Trump’s legal team indicated it will be impossible for them to secure the $454 million bond due in his New York fraud case. His attorneys said they spent “countless hours” negotiating with “one of the largest insurance companies in the world” and approached 30 companies to back the bond.
The former president was ordered last month to pay nearly $355 million — plus interest — after a judge concluded Trump conspired to lie about his net worth to secure tax and insurance benefits. The judgment climbs about $112,000 in interest each day he does not pay, now amounting to more than $454 million.
The verdict also prohibits Trump from working in New York real estate for three years. Judge Arthur Engoron ruled before the case went to trial that Trump — along with his business and adult sons — had committed fraud.
James, who brought the suit against the former president and his business partners, suggested last month that she is prepared to seize Trump’s assets if he does not pay the verdict.
“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 at the time.
James listed the 40 Wall Street tower as one of the properties that could be seized.
Some have suggested Trump could try to solicit foreign money to help pay his bills. Michael Cohen — the former president’s ex-personal attorney, who has now become one of his most vocal critics — and Rep. Sean Casten (D-Ill.) argued the prospect of this is a risk to U.S. national security.