Fox & Friends co-host Brian Kilmeade and Fox News Legal Editor Kerri Kupec Urbahn recently agreed that former President Donald Trump could win his $460 million-plus fraud appeal but they believe he could still lose his buildings if he follows a plan that insiders are floating via Mediaite.
Trump and attorney Alina Habba have been attempting to push back or reduce payment of the fraud judgment that could cost him above $460 million if appeals are unsuccessful, and on Monday filed a motion claiming they can’t raise the bond for those appeals.
On Wednesday morning’s edition of Fox & Friends, Kilmeade revealed that insiders say Trump is considering letting the chips fall where they may in hopes of damaging New York Attorney General Letitia James with backlash over building seizures.
However, the two Fox stars have forewarned that strategy could come back to haunt him:
BRIAN KILMEADE: A couple of options. They say he could declare chapter 11 bankruptcy. He doesn’t want to do that.
Insiders are also saying that Trump is thinking about doing nothing and letting things just see, and see what’s going on about what you just said.
See the attorney general walk over and say, “Trump Tower is mine” and think about it. We were not saying– there was one verdict, but he’s got a great shot at an appeal. If he wins the appeal and they have his assets and they sell it, he’s just out of luck! Even though he wins.
KERRI KUPEC URBAHN: Totally, he loses his buildings!
And you know, let’s talk about this bond for a second. You know, this this crazy half $1 billion bond. It’s not like Donald Trump is a flight risk, right? (laughs) He’s not going anywhere. He’s not going to, you know, flee the country and take his money with him.
There are no victims to repay. The banks were paid back. So it would be perfectly reasonable, and by the way, consistent with how courts operate, to work out something with them where they can reduce this bond or honestly waive it altogether.
And the fact that New York is so unwilling to do that, it’s just, it displays a blatant partisanship that is, frankly, very disturbing to me as a lawyer, to someone who worked at the Department of Justice, to see that the fact to see these judges and lawyers abuse the law in the way that they are against this, against the former president.
BRIAN KILMEADE: And we’ll see if he does nothing and she looks like a bully. Chapter 11 would give him some protection. Or this, this judge will step up and say, listen, it’s excessive. We’ll knock it down to 100 million. He could do the bonds at 100 million, but no bank will do it. And guess what? They’re afraid of retribution. Of being the bank that helped out Donald Trump and being in New York. I thought that was really, significant.
So that’s one thing. Politically, I think the president benefits from this. I look at his enemies. No one’s comfortable with this. Look at Kevin O’Leary. Kevin O’Leary says no. The word is out. You don’t do business in New York. It’s just not worth it.
Let’s say you have some views that are conservative and that gets word to this mayor or the attorney general or the governor, then you’re in trouble and it’s just not worth it. We could do business in 49 other states or maybe another country.
