"He doesn’t have it": Michael Cohen predicts Trump will have to "start liquidating" his assets

The comments came one day after Trump was ordered to pay a penalty of $355 million in a New York civil fraud trial

By Joseph Neese

Editor in Chief

Published February 18, 2024 11:29AM (EST)

Michael Cohen leaves the courtroom for the day after his first day in court testifying against former US President Donald Trump in New York City on October 24, 2023. (ALEX KENT/AFP via Getty Images)
Michael Cohen leaves the courtroom for the day after his first day in court testifying against former US President Donald Trump in New York City on October 24, 2023. (ALEX KENT/AFP via Getty Images)

Michael Cohen, the former personal lawyer for Donald Trump, has predicted that his old boss will have to "start liquidating" his assets.

The comments came one day after the judge overseeing Trump’s New York civil fraud trial ordered the former president to pay a $355 million penalty.

"What else is he supposed to do at this point?" Cohen asked MSNBC host Ali Velshi on Saturday. "There is a now a judgment against him for over $500 million, not including the $88.6 million he’s going to owe to E. Jean Carroll. It’s an enormous amount of money that he does not have."

The sum that Trump owes will increase to more than $400 million with interest, according to The New York Times. The newspaper reported Friday that the "penalty of nearly $355 million plus interest" had the potential to "wipe out his entire stockpile of cash."

The report aligned with this weekend's forecast from Cohen, who was once known as Trump's "fixer." Only last month, a New York jury in a separate trial ordered Trump to pay $83.3 million to longtime columnist E. Jean Carroll, who successfully sued him for defamation.

"I don’t care what anybody wants to write in any newspaper, regardless of what their credentials may be, unless [Trump's] going to show you that his bank account has more than a half a million, he doesn’t have $400 million of cash on hand."

"He doesn’t have it," Cohen added. "They’re going to have to start liquidating assets."

Trump, for his part, has vowed to appeal the ruling, as well as predicted his success.

You can watch the full interview below via YouTube:


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