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Ambiguous Reply from Trump’s Lawyer Raises Questions about Foreign Funding in Legal Proceedings
Has Donald Trump requested financial assistance from Russia, Saudi Arabia, or any other country to cover his forthcoming $464 million bond? Based on Alina Habba’s reply to that specific inquiry, it appears that he has not made such a request. Instead of emphatically saying “no” during an appearance on Fox News Wednesday – the obvious and only correct answer – the Trump attorney said she couldn’t “speak about strategy” and vaguely referred to “rules and regulations.”“Is there any effort on the part of your team to secure this money through another country, Saudi Arabia or Russia, as Joy Behar seems to think?” host Martha MacCallum asked, referring to speculation that Trump might be susceptible to foreign influence. Well, t "here’s rules and regulations that are public,” Habba said. “I can’t speak about strategy, that requires certain things, and we have to follow those rules.” Hours after Habba’s vague response, former U.S. national security adviser Susan Rice raised concerns about Trump’s susceptibility to foreign adversaries.
Habba then called Trump’s multimillion-dollar fraud settlement “manifest injustice.”
Habba’s evasive response drew attention. Political figures and legal experts expressed worries on social media. Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) noted the absence of a clear “no” from Trump’s lawyer, and Susan Rice, a former U.S. national security adviser, underlined the risks of Trump owing money to foreign entities. Rice stressed on MSNBC the power such lenders could wield over the ex-president.
The roots of this financial conundrum lie in a New York state judge’s conviction of Trump for civil fraud last month, which led to a hefty damages demand for decades of fraudulent business practices. As the debt accrues interest at an alarming rate of roughly $112,000 a day, Trump’s legal team has admitted that the former president lacks the liquid assets to cover the bond, raising questions about how and from whom the funds will be sourced.
Such concerns are far from trivial; they have national security implications. With Trump being a presumptive Republican nominee for the upcoming presidential race, the prospect of him being beholden to foreign entities poses a clear risk. Former Mueller prosecutor Andrew Weissmann voiced his unease on CNN about the situation, stressing the undesirable situation of a presidential candidate potentially having “hundreds of millions of reasons to be beholden to somebody.”
The significance of these financial revelations is compounded by the looming deadline set by New York Attorney General Letitia James, after which the state could begin seizing Trump’s assets if the appeal bond is not posted.
