Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) shared on Sunday that she would prefer it if former President Donald Trump’s assets were seized as he faces a deadline to post bond in a $454 million judgment in his New York fraud case.
Ocasio-Cortez shared her thoughts while speaking with CNN’s “State of the Union,” adding that there is a strong “risk” to not taking action against Trump should he fail to come up with the money.
“I think that what we are dealing with politically is the much larger and much more grave and serious pressure of having this judgment against Donald Trump, and him being in this degree of debt and the financial pressures that he is under, and what he is subject to do in order to obtain those assets,” Ocasio-Cortez said.
She went on to say that the New York Attorney General’s Office should seize his assets if he is not able to post bond.
“I actually think that there is risk in not seizing these assets and the open window that exists in him trying to secure these funds through other means,” Ocasio-Cortez said. “We’ve seen a lot of interesting transactions happening with Truth Social and other means. And there’s a very real risk of political corruption.”
Last week, Trump’s lawyers called the bond amount “insurmountable.” The former president even said he would have to have a “fire sale” of his properties to come up with the money.
Trump’s son, Eric Trump, shared in an interview with Fox News on Sunday that they had been laughed at by several insurance companies when seeking help with the bond.
“No one’s ever seen a bond this size,” Eric Trump said. “Every single person, when I came to them saying, ‘Hey, can I get a half-billion-dollar bond?’ They were laughing. Top executives of large insurance companies had never seen anything of this size.”
However, the former president claimed over the weekend that he had $500 million in cash.
Either way, Ocasio-Cortez said that Trump should be treated like everyone else if he isn’t able to post bond, and his assets should be seized.
“I think Attorney General James has been handling this case with tremendous skill. It’s ultimately up to her determination, but it is my belief that all people should be treated equally under the law. And if that seizure of assets would be pursued to any other American, then Donald Trump should be treated the same,” she said.