DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Palus Politicus Trump starts the Appeals process

A good post. It's fair, but I don't agree with the last comment.


It's a BS ruling. I am not even commenting on whether it is a matter of guilt. More about the way it is set. The judge could have put a lien on something. Heck, the judge valued his home in in Palm Beach at $18 million. One acre lots sell for $20 mil on the ocean. His is like 25 . It's crazy.
No doubt NY is doing everything they can to ramrod this guy to the ground.

Like him or not, everybody should be concerned with what is happening here. It's blood thirst. The deep state is real and you should be concerned. You can't seize propertry after 30 days. In the courts it can take years.

Heck, look at California. They are trying to say you can't move out of the state without saying you won't owe taxes for years in the future

Call me old fashioned, but this is America. You can live wherever you want or do business wherever you want. Now California is trying to hold people and business hostage.

WTF?

I think he's speaking more to the Trump-side rather than the donor-side, the core question being will Trump give the bond money back or will he keep it in that hypothetical.

I think I am coincidently more in line with the conclusion that you gave, though. IMHO, if people are willing to donate money to a guy who was just found liable for fraud, to essentially pay for the judgment finding him liable for fraud, and expect to get their money back, well then I don't know what to tell them...

Why would you care who I give money to or if I get it back?? I don't care what you do with your money except that you seem ingrained in to that and we have talked about on several occasions in PM's. I care about what you do in the sense that you succeed, but in the end you make your own decisions.

I don't like Trump, but I don't like what the left is doing. It's dangerous.

I don't like Trump, but I don't like what the left is doing. It's dangerous.

The legal system isn't the left. You seem to claim that the court following legal procedures is somehow nefarious. This is simply the way the system works. It only becomes "not fair" when trump has to follow the same rules as everyone else.

I think his response was odd. You asked if "a trump supporter" would get their money back. Peen responded with "Why would you care who I give money to or if I get it back??"

Then later claimed "I don't like Trump".

So does this indicate he is a trump supporter who doesn't like him?

FYI he was found guilty of a crime. Victims have nothing to do with it. Falsified documents to secure favorable loans is against the law. trump saved billions of dollars by lying. Time to pay up or STFU.

Deutsche Bank testified that the rates would have been the same regardless of his valuations.

And what makes the documents false? Because a corrupt judge says so? The same judge that valued Mar-a-Lago at 18M when the rest of the planet says it's in the neighborhood of 25x that much.

I think a lot of people think there's a slim chance that a judge that's not corrupt may preside over the appeals case. You know, one who won't publicly declare the defendant "guilty" before the case begins. One who won't shut down a business, the only such case in 70 years, without obvious victims and major losses. One who may agree that a half billion dollar fine is waay out of line. One who may even listen to witnesses who insist they were happy to lend the money and wanted to lend more, who said they do their own due-diligence in every case and don't rely on the valuations from the company they're loaning the money... in this case, a company that openly said their opinions on valuations are their own and the lender should do their own research. One who realizes all loans were paid back in full and scratches his/her head to wonder why a case was brought in the first place.

I'm trying to imagine a high-profile case where a minority is accused of a victimless crime. I imagine a judge declaring that person's guilt before the trial begins and vowing to ruin his life. The next part doesn't even require much imagination. There would be fire and destruction outside the courthouse, riots and looting in the streets, the judge would be removed, tarred, feathered, and marched through the street, his life ruined forever. I know it, you know it, everybody knows it.

Deutsche Bank testified that the rates would have been the same regardless of his valuations.

And what makes the documents false? Because a corrupt judge says so? The same judge that valued Mar-a-Lago at 18M when the rest of the planet says it's in the neighborhood of 25x that much.

One of the many, countless rulings from the judge that says you wrong. And there are plenty more. It is on page 10. If you want, a link to the whole ruling is posted at the end. Have someone read it to you.


Haigh affirmed that the Private Wealth Management Division would not have done business
with Donald Trump without a personal guarantee, and that the personal guarantee was the reason
for favorable pricing on the loan and the large size of the loan itself. TT 1017, 1020-1021, 1032.
The Doral loan was conditioned on certain continuing covenants. One such covenant required
Donald Trump to maintain a minimum net worth of $2.5 billion, excluding any value related to
his brand. PX 293; TT 1024. As the “ultimate signer” of the credit risk management team,
Haigh determined the required amount of Donald Trump’s minimum net worth “in order to make
sure that the bank would be fully protected under adverse market conditions.” TT 1025-1026. In
the event of a default of any of the covenants, Haigh stated the bank would have “various
remedies … which it can pursue like waiving the breach, which it might do for an
inconsequential breach; negotiating some variation of the terms of the loan; or potentially
accelerating the loan and ask for repayment.” TT 1028.
The covenant obligated Donald Trump to provide an annual financial statement. Haigh stressed
that the annual SFCs were required because “[t]he bank wants to be sure that the client’s
financial strength is being maintained and also the bank wants to be able to test its covenants
periodically,” and that “[t]he bank would use the financial information that [the client] provided
to test itself to try and ensure that the client is in compliance with those covenants.” TT 1022-
1023.



https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/4473139-trump-354-million-civil-fraud-decision-read/

Eeeeasy answer.

Being Donald Trump.

Former President Donald Trump stands at an outdoor podium with a large microphone, wearing a red hat that has "45-47" written on the side.
The deal’s approval comes as Donald Trump is facing a deadline to cover a $454 million penalty in a civil fraud case in New York.Credit...Maddie McGarvey for The New York Times
Matthew Goldstein

By Matthew Goldstein
March 22, 2024Updated 1:43 p.m. ET

Former President Donald J. Trump’s social media company — and the parent of his favorite digital communications platform, Truth Social — merged with a shell company on Friday, raising Mr. Trump’s wealth by about $3 billion and potentially providing him a fresh source of cash to pay his mounting legal bills.

Investors in the shell entity, Digital World Acquisition Corporation, will now become shareholders of Trump Media & Technology Group, a three-year-old company that could begin trading on the stock market as early as Monday under the stock symbol DJT. The deal will transfer more than $300 million from Digital World’s coffers to Trump Media, a struggling business with little revenue, and allow Truth Social to keep operating.

Based on the $44-per-share price of Digital World just before Friday’s vote was announced, Trump Media will debut with a market value of more than $5 billion. Given that he owns more than 60 percent of the company, Mr. Trump’s net worth will increase by $3 billion — instantly doubling his wealth from the $2.6 billion estimate by Forbes magazine in October.

So far, those gains are on paper, and Mr. Trump is unlikely to be able to quickly turn it into cash because of restrictions in the merger agreement that prevent major shareholders from selling shares for at least six months, or using them as collateral for loans. But because Mr. Trump controls so much of Trump Media, and because his allies are expected to make up a majority of the new board, it’s possible they may waive those restrictions upon his request.

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The question of where Mr. Trump can raise cash has become an urgent one because he is on the hook for hundreds of millions of dollars of legal bills tied to the multiple cases against him. Mr. Trump is facing a Monday deadline to cover a $454 million penalty in a civil fraud case brought by the New York State attorney general, which accuses him of greatly inflating the value of his real estate holdings in deals with banks. If Mr. Trump cannot come up with the cash or a bond to cover the penalty while he appeals the ruling, the attorney general’s office could seize some of his properties.
Turmoil at the National Association of Realtors
The powerful real estate group, which is the largest professional organization in the United States, has come under increasing scrutiny.

A Landmark Deal: American homeowners could see a significant drop in the cost of selling their homes after National Association of Realtors agreed to eliminate the standard 6% sales commission.
Losing Its Grip: The group, which was delivered a one-two punch of scandals in 2023, is facing competition from a new trade group that was started by two prominent real estate agents.
Sudden Exits: The president of the N.A.R. resigned after just four months into her tenure, becoming the group’s second president to abruptly step down. The N.A.R.’s chief executive also recently resigned.
Harassment Allegations: The leadership exits come after The New York Times exposed complaints of sexual harassment in the N.A.R., including allegations against the group’s former president.

Before Friday’s meeting, the board of Digital World had the ability to waive the six-month restriction on selling shares, but didn’t take any action. That question will now pass to Trump Media’s new seven-member board, which includes Mr. Trump’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., and three former members of his administration.

Before the merger closed, Mr. Trump was chairman of Trump Media but neither it nor Digital World disclosed whether he will continue to retain the title. Either way, Mr. Trump will hold enormous sway over the company because of his majority stake of 79 million shares and because his brand is critical to Trump Media’s success.

If Mr. Trump does not ask for, or secure, waivers to sell his shares, he will still come into a lot of cash when the six-month restriction ends. But there is no guarantee that the stock of Trump Media will continue to trade at its current levels. If the share price falls over the coming months, the sizable increase to his net worth could be smaller by September when he is free to sell his shares.

Many of Digital World’s 400,000 shareholders are ordinary investors and fans of Mr. Trump, whose enthusiasm about the former president has propped up the shares for years. But it remains to be seen whether they will hold on to the stock now that the merger is done.
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In a statement before the vote, Trump Media said that “the merger will enable Truth Social to enhance and expand our platform.”

Our business reporters. Times journalists are not allowed to have any direct financial stake in companies they cover.

With the future of his real estate business in flux because of the ruling in the New York civil fraud case, Trump Media could become one of Mr. Trump’s main moneymakers — and a potential source of conflict should he win the presidency in November. Trump Media currently gets most of its revenue from Truth Social, its flagship platform where several upstart companies advertise their products, targeting Mr. Trump’s supporters and using slogans that are variations on America First or Make America Great Again.

The merger of Digital World and Trump Media, first proposed in October 2021, is one of the more high-profile deals to emerge from a strategy that many companies used to go public that was all the rage during the pandemic. Special purpose acquisition companies like Digital World are speculative investment vehicles set up for the purpose of raising money in an initial public offering and then finding an operating business to buy.

In going public through a [censored] merger, Trump Media is following other so-called alt-right businesses like Rumble, an online video streaming service that caters to right-leaning media personalities, and PublicSquare, which bills itself as an online marketplace for the “patriotic parallel economy.”

Trump Media took in just $3.3 million in advertising revenue on Truth Social during the first nine months of last year, and the company, during that period, incurred a net loss of $49 million.

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“It’s unclear to me what is the strategy to building out the platform especially so it may reach a broader advertiser,” said Shannon McGregor, a professor of journalism and media at the University of North Carolina. “There does seem to be a ceiling in these niche markets.”

The merger was almost derailed by a Securities and Exchange Commission investigation into deal talks between the two companies that took place before Digital World’s initial public offering. Securities rules prohibit SPACs from engaging in meaningful merger talks before going public.

But the deal got back on track after Digital World settled with the S.E.C. in July, agreeing to pay an $18 million penalty after the merger was completed and to revise its corporate filings.

After the deal was done on Friday, many shareholders and Trump fans celebrated online. Chad Nedohin, a vocal proponent of the merger on Truth Social, posted a livestream of the shareholder meeting on Rumble. In a chat room, viewers shared their enthusiasm for the deal, with messages such as “Great day to be alive” and “The day is finally here.”

Matthew Goldstein covers Wall Street and white-collar crime and housing issues. More about Matthew Goldstein

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Well this is certainly interesting article that Pit posted.

Peen and FATE, y’all still donating to homeboy even though he just claimed he has the cash?

Eeeeasy answer.

Being Donald Trump.

Please explain how that has anything to do with anything I said.

To a certain extent you are correct. His lawless pattern of behavior dictates he does not believe the rules apply to him. He thinks that he can't be beaten and if he is he tries to illegally change the outcome. He is a habitual liar. So you are correct that the people who act like trump are to be held accountable. And when they are we have people like you blaming it on everyone else in true trumpian form.

Pit@DawgTalkers says if you've committed a crime in the past, you're automatically guilty of any further crimes you're suspected of.

Thanks for bringing such insight to the conversation. It's not something we didn't know about you, but it's always nice to have clarification in black and white.

Eeeeasy answer.

Being Donald Trump.

Lol, I was actually being serious. Not trying to be an ass either. I knew that he had been found liable already and that the trial was about damages. But I didn't know if he had actually been found guilty in the case of a misdemeanor or something else. I figured not, but I don't know everything.

I think you and I depart when it comes to the judge for one basic reason: it did not have to be a bench trial. To my knowledge, Trump's team could have filed a request for trial by jury, but never did. He hired enough people who could have made an educated guess on that topic, but ultimately it would seem that they deemed going with Engoron to be fair. Also, it probably didn't help that they basically personally insulted him day after day during the trial.