Former President Donald Trump was ordered to pay more than $300,000 Thursday for his failed lawsuit against former British spy Christopher Steele—adding a modest amount to the more than $540 million the ex-president has been forced to pay in legal fees and court judgments in recent months as he’s faced a series of court losses.
Former President Donald Trump arrives for an election-night watch party at Mar-a-Lago on March 5 in ... [+]
$382,000: Trump was ordered to pay £300,000 in legal fines after losing a lawsuit brought against Steele and his company Orbis Business Intelligence in the U.K. over the controversial dossier alleging Trump conspired with Russia to win the 2016 election.
$454.2 million: New York Judge Arthur Engoron ordered Trump and companies he controls to pay nearly a half-billion in penalties and pre-judgment interest for fraudulently misstating the value of assets on financial statements—an amount that will continue to accrue significant interest—part of a broader $465 million judgment that also includes fines for his sons Eric and Donald Trump, Jr., and ex-Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg.
$83.3 million: A jury ordered Trump to pay damages to writer E. Jean Carroll for defamation, after he attacked her and said she wasn’t “my type” when she accused him of sexually assaulting her in the 1990s.
$392,638: Trump was ordered to pay nearly $400,000 in legal fees to The New York Times after a court tossed his lawsuit taking issue with the newspaper acquiring and publishing his tax records, which the Times said in February Trump has now paid.
$5 million: A different jury ordered Trump to pay Carroll $5 million in a separate trial, which found him liable for sexual assault and defamation—but not rape; he has paid the amount into a court-controlled account while he appeals the verdict.
$937,989.39: Trump and his attorney Alina Habba were jointly ordered to pay nearly a million dollars in sanctions over the ex-president’s lawsuit against Hillary Clinton and other Democrats, which a judge ruled was “inadequate in nearly every respect” and “unsupported by any legal authority”—Habba has said the fine has been paid, though Trump is appealing the case.
$1.6 million: While not against him personally, the Trump Organization was sentenced to pay over a million after being found guilty for criminal tax fraud after it evaded paying taxes using gifts and other off-the-books compensation; the court confirmed in Feb. 2023 the judgment had been paid.
While some of Trump’s smaller fines have already been paid, the ex-president faces a scramble to pay off his larger debts in the Carroll and fraud cases. He must pay the fines into a court-controlled account or post appeals bonds that guarantee his ability to pay, even as he appeals the judgments. The 30-day window on paying the $83.3 million in Carroll’s trial is closing on Saturday, meaning Carroll can start trying to enforce the judgment if Trump hasn’t paid by Monday, which is the next business day. The court is still deliberating on Trump’s request to pause the judgment while he files post-trial motions. New York Attorney General Letitia James, who brought the fraud lawsuit, is expected to start enforcing the $454 million Trump owes—including by possibly seizing his buildings—if Trump hasn’t paid that fine by March 25.
How much more Trump will have to pay in legal fines. The former president still faces other civil cases that could result in penalties, most notably several lawsuits brought by lawmakers and Capitol police officers that are moving together in court seeking to hold Trump liable for the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the Capitol building. He also has been indicted four times on criminal charges in state and federal courts, and the charges against him all could result in hefty fines—as well as prison time—if he’s convicted. Trump could have to pay $11.2 million in his criminal cases if he were convicted on every charge against him and sentenced to pay the maximum fine.
Forbes estimates Trump has $413 million in cash and liquid assets as of March—part of an overall $2.6 billion estimated net worth—which is not enough to cover the full amount he owes in the Carroll and fraud cases. It remains to be seen how Trump will pay the fines or secure a bond for what he owes, whether that’s through borrowing against or selling his properties, seeking help from wealthy friends or obtaining loans through financial institutions.
The $382,000 Trump has to pay in for his latest legal setback—the Steele case—is significantly less than the interest Trump accrues in the New York civil fraud case even over the course of a week, as the ex-president’s total amount owed in that case goes up by more than $111,000 per day based on a nine percent annual interest rate.
Trump has strongly opposed the judgments against him and has decried the legal cases against him as “witch hunts” designed to hurt his presidential campaign. The former president’s attorneys have called the Carroll judgment “grossly excessive” and sought to have it reduced or thrown out, and Habba said the fraud ruling was a “manifest injustice, plain and simple.”
Trump’s legal fines come on top of other significant fees the ex-president has racked up as a result of his ongoing legal issues, as his attorneys have commanded millions of dollars in fees for defending him. Trump’s attorneys fees have largely been paid through his Save America PAC, with Federal Election Commission filings showing he paid nearly $40 million between his first indictment on March 30, 2023, and the end of last year alone. That includes attorneys fees in cases that aren’t related to the 2024 election, as FEC filings show his PAC has been used to also pay fees in the fraud case—including paying an expert witness who testified at trial—and the British law firm representing him in the Steele case, among other lawsuits.
Trump’s use of campaign funds on his personal legal fees is a legal gray area, former FEC counsel Dan Weiner told Forbes in February, though Trump is unlikely to face repercussions. Whether Trump will try to use Save America funds to pay his significant legal penalties remain to be seen—though Weiner said he “do[esn’t] think it’s legal”—but he won’t be able to pay off a significant amount through the PAC, as it only had $5.1 million in cash going into 2024.