Maggie Haberman Says It’s ‘Big Question’ Whether Trump Could Come Up With $250 Million For Fraud Case

New York Times correspondent and CNN analyst Maggie Haberman said she’s not sure ex-President Donald Trump could afford to pay a $250 million judgment in the fraud case he’s in the process of losing..

News broke Tuesday that Judge Arthur Engoron of the Supreme Court 1st Judicial District in New York ruled that Trump and his company committed fraud in a major development in the civil case brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James. That suit seeks, among other things, to impose a $250 million penalty on Trump and his company.

On Wednesday night’s edition of CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360, host Anderson Cooper asked Haberman about the ruling, including whether Trump could pay if it come to that:

COOPER: And Maggie, the former president is skipping the Republican debate which happens later tonight. The more legal problems he has doesn’t make him, do you think less interested in facing his opponents? I mean, not that — I mean, he certainly didn’t get harmed by not being there the last time in terms of polls.

HABERMAN: I don’t know. I don’t think that appearing at the debate has much to do with his mindset at the moment. I think that they don’t see advantage in his campaign, because he is so far ahead in the polls.

[20:10:00]

I do think Anderson that you would see some of his rivals in the Republican primary certainly someone like a Chris Christie use this ruling from the New York judge to try to attack Trump as not what he says he is, and I think that you will hear that in the coming days.

I think the question is going to be how Trump is processing that himself, and how he handles this going forward, because to go back to the earlier question, this company, Trump Tower, these are central to his identity and how he sees himself and I think that seeing that potentially gone is going to have real ramifications just for him personally and psychologically.

COOPER: And Maggie, I mean, is it clear, does he have $250 million, if that was an actual penalty that the company was to pay?

HABERMAN: I’m not sure how liquid he is at the moment and whether he could pay that. I don’t know whether they will get that in damages.

You know, they have had a couple of cash infusions with some sales recently, one the DC hotel, one the license on the Bronx golf course, you know, among other ways that they get cash.

But this is obviously a big question as to what his actual assets are. His folks have insisted that he has a lot of money.

We will find that tested, I think, if this goes ahead. Again, they could win on appeal. His lawyers have made a ton of arguments, arguing this is not legal. We’ll see how it plays out.

Watch above via Anderson Cooper 360.