TW: mentions of sexual abuse
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Donald Trump wants to become president again. At the same time, he has several court cases against him. In the first, he has now been sentenced to a hefty fine - the beginning of the end of his carefree life as a millionaire?
Donald Trump loses r*pe and defamation trial
The Republican was sued by the author E. Jean Carroll. Indeed, she had sued the former president for r*pe. The whole thing is said to have happened in a department store in 1996, in a changing room. Although the court did not find him guilty of r*pe, Trump had to pay damages for the first time in May 2023.
He then made several defamatory statements about Carroll and was found guilty of sexual abuse, which the court punished with a fine of five million dollars. Shortly afterwards, the now 80-year-old took Trump to court again, claiming that he had ruined her reputation.
The verdict has now been reached in the second civil proceedings: Donald Trump must pay around 83 million dollars in damages to E. Jean Caroll - and she already knows what she wants to do with the money.
Verdict in fraud trial still pending
But things could get even worse for the ex-president, because the judgment of the state of New York is also still pending. This court case is about fraud - Donald Trump is alleged to have falsified the balance sheets of his real estate companies in order to obtain better loans and other benefits.
If Trump loses this trial as well, the consequences for him will be dire. On the one hand, he could be banned from doing business in the entire state of New York - and on the other hand, he could face another fine. This time, however, up to 370 million dollars!
High fines: Will Donald Trump soon be broke?
This raises the question of how long Trump will actually remain among the US millionaires. For one thing, his election campaign is certainly anything but cheap - and in the US, candidates generally have to finance a large part of it themselves.
On the other hand, voices have often been raised that Trump is not as wealthy as he always claims to be. Ciara Torres-Spellissy, Professor of Law, also has her doubts:
The combination of these two compensation cases could drive Trump into bankruptcy.
According to Forbes, the entrepreneur has a fortune of more than 2.6 billion dollars - but it is not known how much of this is actually available to Trump. There were also reports back in 2017 that the Trump Organization was running out of cash.
And how does this affect the election campaign?
Whether Donald Trump is actually on the verge of bankruptcy is something that only he himself knows - or at least the person in charge of his finances. However, the question of how the current and pending verdict will affect the presidential election is likely to be even more exciting.
Until now, Trump was considered the most promising Republican candidate. It remains to be seen whether this hope will be fulfilled or whether his conduct in court will now catch up with him.
Read more:
⋙ Former Donald Trump collaborator Stephanie Grisham speaks out: 'A man in mental decline'
⋙ Donald Trump: The ex-president was a hands-off father throughout Barron's life
This article has been translated from Gentside DE.
Sources used:
BILD: 83 million fine! Will Trump soon be broke? Further payments threatened after rape trial
Tagesschau: Defamation verdict: Trump must pay 83 million dollars in compensation
