Donald Trump has issued an urgent appeal to his supporters for cash to help cover mounting legal expenses and prevent the seizure of his properties by New York Attorney General Letitia James. In a fundraising email sent on Thursday, the former president lashed out at James, calling her an 'insane radical Democrat' and urging loyalists to 'chip in and stop the witch-hunt.'
The appeal comes as Trump faces a Monday deadline to post a $454m bond in a civil fraud case where he was found to have overstated his net worth. His lawyers have said it is 'a practical impossibility' to find a surety company willing to cover the full amount, raising the prospect that authorities could begin seizing his assets, including Trump Tower and a golf course in Westchester county.
Trump has used his Georgia mugshot in previous fundraising appeals and continues to deny wrongdoing, claiming the judgment is 'CRAZY' and that selling assets would be irreversible if he wins an appeal. Meanwhile, Federal Election Commission filings show that a political action committee tied to Trump spent $5.6m on legal fees in February alone, and his campaign lags far behind Joe Biden in fundraising for the November election.
James has said she is prepared to enforce the judgment, and her office has reportedly taken preliminary steps toward seizing a Trump-owned golf course north of Manhattan. The Biden campaign has seized on Trump's financial troubles, with communications director Michael Tyler stating that the former president is 'desperate' and 'staring down a $454m judgment.'
