Former White House communications director Alyssa Farah Griffin said there is “no question” that former President Trump would accept money from foreign sources to secure the funds needed in his civil fraud case.
“Donald Trump does not have a moral compass when it comes to America’s standing in the world, how we interact with our adversaries, and he certainly puts his interests before the country. So if an oligarch in … Russia or a Chinese business official wants to help him get his money, I have no question that he would end up accepting it,” Farah Griffin, who served in the Trump administration, told CNN’s Sara Sidner on Thursday.
Farah Griffin also argued that Trump faces an “incredibly bad” situation, and his brand has suffered. She said he has been “absolutely losing it on social media” over the court’s decisions and the closing window to secure funds.
“What I’m worried about is this: When Donald Trump is backed into a corner, he gets reckless and he makes reckless decisions. This may very well move forward next week and you start seeing properties taken away from him,” she said in comments highlighted by Mediaite. “Where’s he going to turn? There’s a possibility he’s going to look foreign.”
“It could be adversaries, it could be individuals within nations that are adversaries, to lend him money if he’s not able to secure loans here,” Farah Griffin added. “And I think that’s a very real possibility that folks need to be thinking about in the broader context of that.”
Trump faces a Monday deadline to secure a bond or pay the $454 million due in his New York civil fraud case. His lawyers indicated earlier this week that it would be “impossible” for them to secure the bond; they said “countless hours” had been spent negotiating with insurance companies attempting to do so.
The former president has been ordered to pay nearly $355 million in penalties plus interest after a judge found he conspired to lie about his net worth to receive better tax and insurance benefits. The total sum is now more than $454 million, with $112,000 in interest added each day.
Trump’s critics question whether the former president might secure the funds from an outside source.
If he fails to meet the deadline, New York Attorney General Letitia James (D), who originally brought forth the fraud case against Trump, said she may seize some of his assets.