The NTI newsroom can report that Donald Trump continues to come under fire. The former US president is currently in court defending claims of hush money constituting election fraud. Reports have also emerged that Trumps former friend and lawyer, Rudy Guiliani has listed a “possible claim for unpaid legal fees against Mr. Trump”.
Chapter 11 Bankruptcy
Mr. Guiliani filed for chapter 11 Bankruptcy protection in December 2023 after being ordered $148m for defaming two Georgia election workers he falsely accused of election fraud. Guiliani, Trump’s former personal lawyer had accused Ruby Freeman and her daughter, Wandrea "Shaye" Moss of election fraud claiming it resulted in the 2020 US election being stolen from Trump. The defamation case before the US District Court in Washington found Mr. Guiliani liable and ordered him to pay $148 in compensation, an amount Mr Guiliani calls “absurd”. The verdict subsequently resulted in Mr. Guiliani filing for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy protection.
Creditors claim
Last Friday the Committee of Unsecured Creditors in Mr Guiliani’s Bankruptcy issued over a dozen subpoena’s in an effort to recover assets. The subpoena’s have been issued in an attempt to clarify whether Mr. Trump owes $2m in unpaid wages for a spurious legal battle to overturn election results. Mr. Guiliani has stated that the money is not owed by Mr. Turmp but either by Trumps’s campaign or the Republican National Committee.
Whatever the outcome, this recent action no doubt represents added pressure on Mr. Trump ahead of the US election in November. The NTI newsroom earlier this year reported that Mr. Trump was facing numerous criminal counts and had recently been ordered to pay $355m plus interest to New York state in respect of fraudulently inflating his financial affairs.
Hush money trial
Prosecutor, Michael Colangelo, during his opening statement at Trump’s “hush money” trial yesterday argued that the way in which the payment to adult film actress and former playboy model, Stormy Daniels, to silence her claims of an affair were recorded amounted to falsification of his financial records. Colangelo in a stark opening statement called it “election fraud, pure and simple”.
Mr. Colangelo also claimed that Trumps campaign were “terrified” after an Access Hollywood tape came to light in which Mr. Trump was caught bragging about being able to sexually assault women because he was famous.
The prosecution further claimed that “Donald Trump was a very frugal businessman. He believed in pinching pennies … He believed in negotiating every bill. … Donald Trump’s willingness to [overpay] here shows just how important it was to hide the true nature of Cohen’s [payment] to Ms. Daniels and the overall election conspiracy they had launched in August of 2015.”
Other criminal cases
In addition to the ongoing hush trial case, Trump faces criminal cases accused of conspiracy to defraud the US, conspiracy against the rights of citizens and racketeering charges. It is possible that these charges will not be heard until after the election in November and should Mr. Trump be elected president, he would then be in a position to pardon himself from those charges. In the meantime, there are civil claims against Mr. Trump which could result in Mr. Trump seeking bankruptcy protection. Watch this space for the next exciting episode in the Trump saga.
