Michael Cohen slammed after he claims Trump has no choice but to liquidate assets following fraud verdict

NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: In the wake of a recent fraud trial verdict, Michael Cohen, once a staunch ally and fixer for former President Donald Trump, has made a bold prediction regarding Trump's financial future.

Speaking to MSNBC host Ali Velshi on Saturday, February 17, Cohen suggested that Trump may be forced to liquidate his assets to cover the hefty fines resulting from multiple legal battles.

Cohen predicts asset liquidation

Velshi asked, "What changes Donald Trump’s behavior? Does $500 million change Donald Trump’s behavior? Because, according to Truth Social, nothing changes his behavior. He just keeps on posting the same stuff about how it’s all corrupt."

Cohen responded, "What else is he supposed to do at this point? 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."

"I don’t care what anybody wants to write in any newspaper, regardless of what their credentials may be, unless he’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 continued.

"Maybe what he’s doing is he’s including RNC money, or he’s including the PAC money, or he’s including the various different condominium money that’s sitting in Cat X accounts, that they do not belong to him. Right? Those don’t belong to him either," Cohen asserted.

"He has a very interesting way of looking at money, and the way he looks at is if his name is somehow attached to that, it’s available. It’s available to him. It is not right and he doesn’t have it. They’re going to have to start liquidating assets," he concluded, as quoted by Mediaite.

Cohen's remarks came shortly after a significant ruling by Judge Arthur Engoron, who ordered Trump to pay nearly $354 million in penalties for manipulating his business assets to gain tax and insurance benefits.

The decision, stemming from a lawsuit filed by New York Attorney General Letitia James in 2022, found Trump liable for fraud. Furthermore, Judge Engoron imposed a three-year ban on Trump holding top executive positions in New York State.

The severity of the legal setbacks is compounded by additional fines imposed on Trump's sons, Donald Trump Jr and Eric Trump. The cumulative impact of these verdicts is likely to deal a substantial blow to Trump's fortune, which has long been central to his public persona.

Speculations on Trump's re-election bid

In a separate interview, Cohen speculated on Trump's motivations for seeking re-election in 2024, suggesting that winning the presidency might offer Trump an avenue to evade financial penalties and potential incarceration.

“Donald’s theory right now, the only out for him, both financially, as well as criminally, regarding incarceration, is if he wins the election,” Cohen said on Friday on MSNBC’s 'Deadline: White House'.

“He’s not running for the presidency of the United States to do good for the United States, he wants to do — and the only way he can do good — for himself, is to win the presidency,” he added.

Cohen, who himself faced legal troubles and served time in prison, found vindication in Judge Engoron's assessment of his testimony during the trial. Engoron acknowledged Cohen's past transgressions but deemed his testimony credible, affirming that Cohen "told the truth" despite his previous guilty plea for perjury.

“His testimony was significantly compromised by his having pleaded guilty to perjury … Although the animosity between the witness and the defendant is palpable, providing Cohen with an incentive to lie, the Court found his testimony credible,” the judge wrote in his 92-page decision, further noting, “This factfinder does not believe that pleading guilty to perjury means that you can never tell the truth. Michael Cohen told the truth."

“I think the ruling was just and fair,” Cohen said, adding that he thought the amount “would have and should have been higher".

Cohen faces social media backlash

However, Cohen's assertion that Trump would have to liquidate his assets sparked backlash on social media, with some questioning his credibility.

"The liar who went to prison??" one posted on X.

"This is the guy proven to be a liar that the left originally dismissed. But now he's suddenly 'credible.' LOL," another wrote.

"The left now loves Mike Cohen," someone else added.

"That dude is a Rat Nobody cares what that liar has to say about anything," another chimed in..

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