Donald Trump is close to the deadline to post bond in his fraud trialā€”and heā€™s screwing himself over even more.

After having reached out to several guarantors and 30 suretors for help posting his $464 million New York bank fraud bond, Donald Trump suddenly wants everyone to know he actually does have the cash.

In a bizarre rant on Friday morning, the man who was found to have defrauded banks and investors by overvaluing himself and the value of his properties claimed that he had accrued the wealth by way of ā€œHARD WORK, TALENT, AND LUCK.ā€

Trump also admitted he has nearly half a billion dollars in cash.

The confession directly contradicts a filing from his legal team last month arguing that it would be ā€œimpossibleā€ to secure a bond covering the full amount of the multimillion-dollar ruling.

Trumpā€™s words will surely help out New York Attorney General Letitia James, who on WednesdayĀ urgedĀ an appeals court to ignore Donald Trumpā€™s latest effort to worm his way out of paying the $464 million disgorgement from his bank fraud trial.

  • FlowVoid@lemmy.world
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    6 months ago

    Courts generally consider broad statements like ā€œriggedā€ and ā€œcorruptā€ to be opinions, which by themselves are not grounds for libel. Libel requires stating specific false facts.

    For example, ā€œThe election was riggedā€ is an opinion. But ā€œTwo Georgia election workers threw away GOP ballotsā€ is libel.

    • NovaPrime@lemmy.ml
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      6 months ago

      Libel requires stating specific false facts

      I know what you mean and what youā€™re intending here but there is no such thing as ā€œfalse facts.ā€ Itā€™s lies.

      The election was rigged" is an opinion.

      It is not. Itā€™s a bool statement - true or false. The election was not rigged, thatā€™s a fact. Stating otherwise is a lie.

      • FlowVoid@lemmy.world
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        6 months ago

        ā€œRiggedā€ is an opinion.

        I donā€™t think it was rigged, but people routinely claim that due to the way the Electoral College works, all presidential elections are ā€œriggedā€ in favor of the GOP. Similar claims have been made of recent Democratic primaries. Or that elections are rigged in favor of wealthy candidates, or incumbents.

        Courts arenā€™t going to decide whether itā€™s true that something is ā€œriggedā€, they need something more concrete.

    • ericatty@lemmy.ml
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      6 months ago

      What about ā€œoften overturnedā€? That seems like a fact that could potentially be proven or disproven.

      Especially if the judge has never been overturned, or never/rarely overturned in the context or timeframe of these cases. Assuming that is a false fact for this judge, I donā€™t know his stats.

      Another judge on his cases has been potentially been ā€œoften overturnedā€ based on percentages of total cases/rulings?

      • FlowVoid@lemmy.world
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        6 months ago

        ā€œOftenā€ is an opinion about something that has happened. Just like ā€œa lotā€.

        Suppose I said ā€œBoeing aircraft often failā€ and you havenā€™t kept up with the news. You can conclude that they have failed, but you wonā€™t know how many times unless you ask more questions.

        • ericatty@lemmy.ml
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          6 months ago

          What if I say you often get speeding tickets while driving, but youā€™ve never been stopped by the cops for anything, or you got one speeding ticket 10 years ago? If I keep repeating that you ā€œoften get speeding ticketsā€ and it gets you fired - did I not hurt you with a lie?

          Notice Iā€™m not accusing you of speeding. Iā€™m saying you often get ticketed, something that can be verified

          Heā€™s not accusing the judge of ā€œoften making wrong or bad decisionsā€ He is saying ā€œoften overturned decisionsā€ Has the judge been overturned in these proceedings? Because another federal judge in one of his other cases has been overturned, but heā€™s not posting about that judge being unfair or ā€œoften overturnedā€

          I feel like thereā€™s a difference, but maybe using ā€œoftenā€ murks it up just enough. Like using alleged, ā€œitā€™s possibleā€, or ā€œpeople sayā€ to spread rumors.

          • FlowVoid@lemmy.world
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            6 months ago

            If you say I often get speeding tickets, thatā€™s the same as saying that Iā€™ve gotten speeding tickets and you think Iā€™ve gotten too many.

            The first part is false only if Iā€™ve never gotten one. The second is an opinion.

            I would be surprised if any judge never had any part of any decision changed on appeal. Appeals courts exist to modify what judges do, it just goes with the territory. Engoron is no different this regard, in fact Trump himself was partly successful in appealing one of his orders.