“Shark Tank” star Kevin O’Leary said the prospect of New York Attorney General Letitia James’s office seizing former President Donald Trump’s assets to satisfy a $454 million judgment against him in the state’s civil fraud lawsuit would shake investors’ faith in the American economy.
O’Leary, the multimillionaire investor who became a household name thanks to his hard-to-please “Mr. Wonderful” television persona on the popular reality TV show, told Fox News that respect for property rights in the US was “the essence of what makes the American brand the No. 1 economy on Earth.”
“The collateral damage to the American brand is horrific,” the Canadian-born businessman told Fox News on Friday.
The potential seizure of Trump’s assets will make it more difficult for O’Leary to raise money from investors for a $3 billion data center, he said.
“The No. 1 question I have when I go to these countries to try and raise this capital is: ‘What the hell is going on in New York’?’” O’Leary said.
“And I tell them: ”It’s not America. It is just an anomaly. I swear to you, everybody, this is not America.’”
James’s office last week filed judgments in Westchester County in what observers say are the first steps toward seizing Trump’s Seven Springs golf course and private estate in Mount Kisco.
James has indicated she would move to seize Trump’s assets if the former president failed to secure a bond by Monday while he appeals the verdict against him.
Trump’s lawyers said last week that they approached dozens of banks but were unable to secure a bond.
O’Leary said that the Monday deadline for Trump to post bond was excessively tight, calling it a pretense to “steal.”
“Property rights are mentioned 37 times in the Constitution. Due process, very important. Why steal someone’s assets in 27 days?” O’Leary said.
“Why not give them more time to come up with the cash? Forget about Donald Trump. Who would want this to happen to them?”
O’Leary said his criticism of James had “nothing to do with Donald Trump” and that he would hesitate to invest in New York State as a result of the ordeal.
He said that going after Trump could motivate James to target other politicians she didn’t agree with.
“I don’t know who she is,” O’Leary said of James. “But all I could say was, who’s next?”
A Manhattan judge last month found that Trump repeatedly lied about his wealth on financial statements given to banks and others to secure loans and make deals.
The judge ordered him to give up profits from certain real estate deals and money he saved by obtaining lower interest rates on loans. Trump denies that he tried to deceive anyone.
Trump has also asked an appeals court to either reduce, delay or waive the bond requirement.
Last week, Trump, who steamrolled his opponents in the Republican presidential primaries, said that he had around $500 million in cash, but he wants to use it for his presidential run.
“THROUGH HARD WORK, TALENT, AND LUCK, I CURRENTLY HAVE ALMOST FIVE HUNDRED MILLION DOLLARS IN CASH, A SUBSTANTIAL AMOUNT OF WHICH I INTENDED TO USE IN MY CAMPAIGN FOR PRESIDENT,” he wrote on his Truth Social app on Friday.
The former president arrived in a Manhattan court on Monday for a separate case — the criminal investigation into alleged hush money payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels.
With Post Wires
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
