$83 Mill. With what could well be a $250 mill judgement against Trump by the end of next week. Sure he can appeal. However, he has to either pony up $83 mill in cash or, say, the deed to one of his properties, while the appeals take place. Interest accrues:
Mr. Trump can pay the $83.3 million to the court, which will hold the money while the appeal is pending. This is what he did last year when a jury ordered him to pay Ms. Carroll $5.5 million in a related case.
Or, Mr. Trump can try to secure a bond, which will save him from having to pay the full amount up front.
A bond might require him to pay a deposit and offer collateral, and would come with interest and fees. It would also require Mr. Trump to find a financial institution willing to lend him a large sum of money at a time when he is in significant legal jeopardy. (Something tells me that Deutsche Bank isn’t coming through that door. There’s always the Saudis…)
Although Mr. Trump likes to boast of his billions, much of his wealth is linked to the value of his properties, and he is loath to part with vast sums of cash at once.
And when it comes to his varied legal expenses — of which there are many — he tries to avoid spending his own money at all. Mr. Trump has tapped his political action committee’s coffers to pay for his own legal fees and other expenses stemming from his criminal indictments and civil trials.
Yet $83.3 million eclipses the amount in his political accounts. The verdict on Friday will require Mr. Trump to reach into his own pocket.
A Huge Environmental Win. When Bill McKibben Says It’s So, I Believe Him. Props to Biden, but especially to the people who fought so hard for this:
I wrote you two days ago with provisional good news—it looked as if the long and deep fight to rein in runaway LNG export growth had scored a huge victory. The succeeding 48 hours have been full of joy, because that news turned out to be entirely true. As the White House confirmed with the official release of its policy at 5 a.m. this morning, all new licenses for LNG export terminals are hereby halted, until the policies used to figure out if they’re in the “public interest” can be updated to include modern economics and science.
That this is a huge victory can’t be said strongly enough—for the people in the Gulf who have fought so long and hard (it was such fun to join Roishetta Ozane et al in a press conference this morning), and for the planet. This is the biggest check any president has ever applied to the fossil fuel industry, and the strongest move against dirty energy in American history. And if you have any doubts, check out the tears of outrage from Big Oil. (Fox News coverage here, if you’re experienced in handling schadenfreude).
Two more key points:
- The pledge to “transition away from fossil fuels” that John Kerry and the rest of the world’s governments signed in Dubai was given actual meaning by Biden’s move. He’s thrown down the gauntlet to other world leaders: the world’s biggest hydrocarbon producer has said we’ve reached a limit.
- There’s finally an actual climate test in place for American fossil fuel expansion plans. This is what we failed to win in the Keystone XL fight; though Barack Obama indicated in his rejection of that plan that we should build new stuff if it “only if it does not significantly exacerbate carbon pollution,” we’ve had to wait ten years for that to be turned into policy. It now needs to be formally expanded to every decision we make!
Wisconsin Rethugs Hasten Their Own Extinction. Pass draconian abortion ban before new election maps take effect:
Republicans who control the Wisconsin Assembly approved a bill Thursday that would call for a binding statewide referendum to ban abortion after 14 weeks of pregnancy.
Current Wisconsin law prohibits abortion after 20 weeks of pregnancy. The bill’s supporters say closing the window after 14 weeks could save more fetuses from death. The proposal would set up a statewide referendum during April’s election asking voters whether the 14-week prohibition should take effect. The deadline would not apply in cases of rape and incest.
I hope this proposal does come to a referendum. Because it’s going down. I haven’t even gotten to Dr. Cow yet:
A Republican lawmaker from Wisconsin has claimed that he’s “qualified” to ban abortion – because he’s a vet.
While debating a potential 14-week abortion ban on Thursday, state Rep Joel Kitchens said he knows that “abortion is not health care” because of his career as a veterinarian.
“You know, in my veterinary career, I did thousands of ultrasounds on animals, you know, determining pregnancy and that kind of thing,” Mr Kitchens said. “So I think I know mammalian foetal development better than probably anyone here. And in my mind, there’s absolutely no question that’s a life, and I think the science backs me up on that.”
“Mammalian Foetal Development”. If that isn’t a band name just waiting to be snapped up…name of first album–Pig-malian. Which reminds me–sad news:
Norman The Pig Passes Away. He was truly beloved by all the kids and families who came to Marini’s Produce every summer. His family made sure he had a great life. RIP, Norman:
The Marini family is asking that Norman fans share a favorite photo or story on his Facebook page and honor his memory by “being kind to others who cross your path.”
What do you want to talk about?