1 00:00:01,960 --> 00:00:04,960 Speaker 1: Welcome to the Bloomberg Law Show. I'm June Grosso. Ahead 2 00:00:04,960 --> 00:00:08,520 Speaker 1: in this hour, the Supreme Court signals it's done with 3 00:00:08,600 --> 00:00:13,119 Speaker 1: affirmative action, at least for now. In vitro, fertilization is 4 00:00:13,160 --> 00:00:18,480 Speaker 1: in jeopardy after an unprecedented Alabama Supreme Court ruling that 5 00:00:18,640 --> 00:00:22,599 Speaker 1: embryos are children and a cash crunch for Trump with 6 00:00:22,720 --> 00:00:25,520 Speaker 1: those huge legal bills and massive finds. 7 00:00:30,280 --> 00:00:33,800 Speaker 2: What I'm really concerned about, though, is could we legally 8 00:00:33,840 --> 00:00:40,040 Speaker 2: retrieve our embryos. There's mostly concern, there's worry, there's some 9 00:00:40,200 --> 00:00:44,280 Speaker 2: anger as patients and physicians want to be able to 10 00:00:44,320 --> 00:00:47,880 Speaker 2: make these decisions together, collaboratively and not have these decisions 11 00:00:47,920 --> 00:00:48,640 Speaker 2: made for us. 12 00:00:48,800 --> 00:00:53,280 Speaker 1: Doctors and IV patients are experiencing a range of emotions 13 00:00:53,320 --> 00:00:57,320 Speaker 1: and a lot of confusion after the Alabama Supreme Court's 14 00:00:57,480 --> 00:01:02,640 Speaker 1: unprecedented decision that frozen embryos are children. The decision means 15 00:01:02,720 --> 00:01:06,679 Speaker 1: doctors like Mamy McLean could now face criminal charges or 16 00:01:06,720 --> 00:01:12,320 Speaker 1: punitive damages if they discard unused frozen embryos from IV treatments, 17 00:01:12,680 --> 00:01:14,720 Speaker 1: and that's a normal part of the process. 18 00:01:15,120 --> 00:01:17,760 Speaker 2: This ruling is so incomplete, and it leaves those of 19 00:01:17,840 --> 00:01:20,480 Speaker 2: us who are sitting face to face with patients, just 20 00:01:20,560 --> 00:01:22,959 Speaker 2: with the inability to comment on what is safe and 21 00:01:23,000 --> 00:01:24,040 Speaker 2: what is legal for them. 22 00:01:24,120 --> 00:01:28,959 Speaker 1: Right now, Alabama's largest hospital and several fertility clinics are 23 00:01:29,000 --> 00:01:33,880 Speaker 1: pausing in vitro fertilization treatments because of legal concerns, and 24 00:01:34,040 --> 00:01:37,040 Speaker 1: patients like Matt Clary and his wife are in limbo. 25 00:01:37,560 --> 00:01:40,760 Speaker 1: They'd plan to go through another round of IVF this summer, 26 00:01:41,040 --> 00:01:43,760 Speaker 1: but are now unsure whether it will be available. 27 00:01:44,200 --> 00:01:47,960 Speaker 3: Nobody has the answers of how do you navigate this? 28 00:01:48,560 --> 00:01:52,960 Speaker 1: Joining me is healthcare attorney Harry Nelson of Nelson Hardiman Harry. 29 00:01:53,000 --> 00:01:56,840 Speaker 1: The Alabama Supreme Court in this eight to one decision, 30 00:01:57,120 --> 00:02:01,680 Speaker 1: cited the state's constitution and an eighty seventy two statute 31 00:02:01,720 --> 00:02:04,960 Speaker 1: in its ruling, and religion played a role as well. 32 00:02:05,280 --> 00:02:09,160 Speaker 1: For example, the court wrote, human life cannot be wrongfully 33 00:02:09,160 --> 00:02:13,080 Speaker 1: destroyed without incurring the wrangth of a holy God, and 34 00:02:13,160 --> 00:02:15,480 Speaker 1: the facts in this case were quite odd. 35 00:02:16,160 --> 00:02:19,880 Speaker 3: It appears that this decision was the result of a 36 00:02:20,000 --> 00:02:23,600 Speaker 3: very calculated case. The case involved two families who had 37 00:02:23,639 --> 00:02:27,240 Speaker 3: had children through a fertility center and had additional embryos 38 00:02:27,400 --> 00:02:31,720 Speaker 3: stored at the center. Those embryos were destroyed in a 39 00:02:31,800 --> 00:02:36,320 Speaker 3: bizarre incident where another patient apparently walked into an unauthorized area, 40 00:02:36,440 --> 00:02:39,639 Speaker 3: opened a freezer, pulled out the storage container with the embryos, 41 00:02:39,840 --> 00:02:44,360 Speaker 3: suffered immediate freezer burn, and dropped the container, resulting in 42 00:02:44,400 --> 00:02:47,680 Speaker 3: the destruction. And so it doesn't seem obvious, at least 43 00:02:47,680 --> 00:02:51,320 Speaker 3: to me that the natural response of someone who had 44 00:02:51,400 --> 00:02:54,600 Speaker 3: hoped to use an embryo for a future in vitro 45 00:02:54,639 --> 00:02:59,400 Speaker 3: fertilization would be to sue for wrongful death of a minor. Right, certainly, 46 00:02:59,440 --> 00:03:01,480 Speaker 3: people would be a grief, but it certainly seems there's 47 00:03:01,480 --> 00:03:05,160 Speaker 3: a calculated decision to bring a case under this law 48 00:03:05,480 --> 00:03:09,240 Speaker 3: and challenge the destruction, to use this incident to test 49 00:03:09,360 --> 00:03:13,639 Speaker 3: whether an embryo could be the legal equivalent of the 50 00:03:13,760 --> 00:03:17,680 Speaker 3: fully born child. The Alabama Supreme Court surprised most people 51 00:03:18,200 --> 00:03:21,760 Speaker 3: by agreeing with the theory that the parents who lost 52 00:03:21,800 --> 00:03:25,520 Speaker 3: these embryos alleged, which was that the accidental destruction of 53 00:03:25,560 --> 00:03:29,680 Speaker 3: the embryos in an embryo lab was the legal equivalent 54 00:03:29,919 --> 00:03:33,800 Speaker 3: of killing their children. You know, it's an extreme position 55 00:03:34,320 --> 00:03:37,200 Speaker 3: and it raises all kinds of troubling implications for anybody 56 00:03:37,360 --> 00:03:41,800 Speaker 3: who is involved at all in the process of extracting, storing, 57 00:03:42,120 --> 00:03:46,160 Speaker 3: implanting embryos, handling them in any way. The simple meaning 58 00:03:46,160 --> 00:03:48,360 Speaker 3: of this case is that you are potentially, if anything 59 00:03:48,400 --> 00:03:52,160 Speaker 3: happens to these embryos, you are effectively committing the equivalent 60 00:03:52,160 --> 00:03:54,240 Speaker 3: of a homicide or a manslaughter of a child. 61 00:03:55,000 --> 00:04:00,120 Speaker 1: The common practice with a patient undergoing IVF, multiple embryo 62 00:04:00,280 --> 00:04:03,440 Speaker 1: are created so that the patient can try again if 63 00:04:03,480 --> 00:04:07,720 Speaker 1: an attempt at pregnancy fail. So what kind of problem 64 00:04:07,800 --> 00:04:09,600 Speaker 1: does a decision like this create. 65 00:04:10,240 --> 00:04:12,680 Speaker 3: You know, it's a difficult procedure in which there's no 66 00:04:12,800 --> 00:04:16,520 Speaker 3: certainty that a single embryo will implant. In fact, if 67 00:04:16,520 --> 00:04:18,839 Speaker 3: you go back just twenty years ago, prior to the 68 00:04:18,880 --> 00:04:23,040 Speaker 3: octomom case, it was common practice for many fertility doctors 69 00:04:23,160 --> 00:04:26,839 Speaker 3: to implant the significantly larger numbers of embryos to see 70 00:04:26,839 --> 00:04:29,880 Speaker 3: which ones would succeed. And it's still a common practice 71 00:04:30,000 --> 00:04:33,240 Speaker 3: to implant smaller numbers of multiple embryos, which is one 72 00:04:33,240 --> 00:04:35,560 Speaker 3: of the reasons we see a lot more twins resulting 73 00:04:35,680 --> 00:04:39,040 Speaker 3: from IVF. The problem now is that, based on this case, 74 00:04:39,240 --> 00:04:43,000 Speaker 3: the handling of those embryos is effectively the handling of 75 00:04:43,360 --> 00:04:46,160 Speaker 3: live children. I don't know, between the age of one 76 00:04:46,240 --> 00:04:49,960 Speaker 3: day old newborns to seventeen year olds. Those embryos have 77 00:04:50,080 --> 00:04:53,120 Speaker 3: the same legal status as those children. And these are 78 00:04:53,240 --> 00:04:57,160 Speaker 3: embryos that are in the hands of lab doctors, hospitals, 79 00:04:57,360 --> 00:05:01,480 Speaker 3: surgery centers, and really a world the new questions of 80 00:05:01,480 --> 00:05:05,080 Speaker 3: what their responsibilities are, like, what happens if the power 81 00:05:05,120 --> 00:05:07,640 Speaker 3: goes off and there's a destruction that way? What happens 82 00:05:07,680 --> 00:05:10,320 Speaker 3: if they aren't used and they're simply sitting there is 83 00:05:10,320 --> 00:05:13,680 Speaker 3: there any consequence if they're no longer usable, What happens 84 00:05:13,760 --> 00:05:16,360 Speaker 3: if there's a dispute between the parents? What is their status? 85 00:05:16,400 --> 00:05:19,080 Speaker 3: They are no longer property, They are alive, right, So 86 00:05:19,200 --> 00:05:22,440 Speaker 3: this is a radical new legal world that we've entered 87 00:05:22,480 --> 00:05:23,240 Speaker 3: with this decision. 88 00:05:23,760 --> 00:05:27,960 Speaker 1: Usually the parents have the right to decide what happens 89 00:05:28,400 --> 00:05:31,480 Speaker 1: to embryos that are not used. 90 00:05:31,839 --> 00:05:35,400 Speaker 3: Correct until now and in every other state, embryos are 91 00:05:35,800 --> 00:05:40,719 Speaker 3: effectively property. The parents have full discretion over what to 92 00:05:40,760 --> 00:05:43,800 Speaker 3: do with them. Parents can decide if they don't want 93 00:05:43,839 --> 00:05:47,240 Speaker 3: to pursue further privs and there were remaining embryos, they 94 00:05:47,240 --> 00:05:50,440 Speaker 3: could simply demand that they be destroyed, and they would 95 00:05:50,480 --> 00:05:53,440 Speaker 3: be destroyed like any other kind of tissue in a lab, 96 00:05:53,680 --> 00:05:56,240 Speaker 3: and they would not be facing the dire consequences of 97 00:05:56,440 --> 00:06:00,320 Speaker 3: having essentially taken a life, So all kinds of really 98 00:06:00,440 --> 00:06:03,440 Speaker 3: scary implications about what this new status means. 99 00:06:03,720 --> 00:06:07,280 Speaker 1: Also, can you do genetic testing on embryos? 100 00:06:07,320 --> 00:06:09,839 Speaker 3: Then, whether you can do genetic testing or what you 101 00:06:09,839 --> 00:06:12,680 Speaker 3: can do to these embryos short of destroying them is 102 00:06:12,720 --> 00:06:15,960 Speaker 3: a really interesting question. There's nothing in this decision that 103 00:06:16,000 --> 00:06:20,240 Speaker 3: suggests that you couldn't do genetic testing. However, anytime that 104 00:06:20,320 --> 00:06:24,320 Speaker 3: you have any kind of contact with, you know, embryonic tissue, 105 00:06:24,440 --> 00:06:27,080 Speaker 3: you are potentially taking a risk. Right, there is a 106 00:06:27,240 --> 00:06:30,919 Speaker 3: risk that the extraction, even though it's often done safely. 107 00:06:31,000 --> 00:06:33,040 Speaker 3: I think doctors rul routinely tell patience there is a 108 00:06:33,120 --> 00:06:36,080 Speaker 3: chance that this will result in destruction. So I think 109 00:06:36,160 --> 00:06:39,720 Speaker 3: genetic testing in this context just became basically off limits 110 00:06:39,720 --> 00:06:43,039 Speaker 3: in Alabama because it could result in the destruction of 111 00:06:43,080 --> 00:06:45,080 Speaker 3: the tissue and therefore essentially a killing. 112 00:06:45,600 --> 00:06:48,640 Speaker 1: And this is a decision where the Cord hands down 113 00:06:48,720 --> 00:06:54,280 Speaker 1: this radical decision and then just says, Okay, we're done, 114 00:06:54,320 --> 00:06:58,360 Speaker 1: and the implications are left to I don't know, the 115 00:06:58,400 --> 00:07:03,640 Speaker 1: medical profession, patients, the legislature, who. 116 00:07:03,440 --> 00:07:06,520 Speaker 3: Decides, yeah, you know, this decision in many ways reminds 117 00:07:06,520 --> 00:07:09,480 Speaker 3: me it sort of parallels the decision itself, which repealed 118 00:07:09,520 --> 00:07:12,240 Speaker 3: Roe v. Wade, in the sense that the Supreme Court said, 119 00:07:12,600 --> 00:07:15,920 Speaker 3: we'reishing this proclamation that Rowan too far, and we're kicking 120 00:07:15,960 --> 00:07:18,160 Speaker 3: it back to the states to decide. And there was 121 00:07:18,200 --> 00:07:20,880 Speaker 3: this almost like assumption that the problem would just sort 122 00:07:20,880 --> 00:07:23,160 Speaker 3: itself out at the state level, and in fact we've 123 00:07:23,160 --> 00:07:26,800 Speaker 3: gotten a result of national chaos over the last nearly 124 00:07:26,800 --> 00:07:29,960 Speaker 3: two years. And this decision does exactly the same thing 125 00:07:30,240 --> 00:07:34,600 Speaker 3: in this smaller context of IVF and Alabama and embryos, 126 00:07:34,640 --> 00:07:37,480 Speaker 3: because it's created a world of chaos where all these 127 00:07:37,600 --> 00:07:41,920 Speaker 3: different actors, parents who are considering IVF and fertility treatment, 128 00:07:42,080 --> 00:07:47,400 Speaker 3: fertility doctors, hospitals, health systems, medical school training programs, storage companies, 129 00:07:47,440 --> 00:07:51,040 Speaker 3: everybody's got to make these new decisions, and there will 130 00:07:51,080 --> 00:07:54,760 Speaker 3: certainly be new regulations, but there's a lot of personal 131 00:07:54,880 --> 00:07:59,400 Speaker 3: decisions to sort of avoid this whole uncertain, chaotic environment 132 00:07:59,640 --> 00:08:02,080 Speaker 3: in face of going to states where this is totally 133 00:08:02,160 --> 00:08:03,960 Speaker 3: uncontroversial territory. 134 00:08:03,960 --> 00:08:07,200 Speaker 1: Harry, Some doctors are saying that patients because of this 135 00:08:07,240 --> 00:08:11,440 Speaker 1: could have to endure longer and more costly treatments to 136 00:08:11,560 --> 00:08:14,680 Speaker 1: try to achieve a pregnancy if they're only allowed to 137 00:08:14,760 --> 00:08:19,200 Speaker 1: create one embryo per cycle, and one cycle of IVF 138 00:08:19,520 --> 00:08:23,760 Speaker 1: now costs about fifteen to twenty five thousand dollars. Tell 139 00:08:23,840 --> 00:08:25,720 Speaker 1: us a little about the process. 140 00:08:25,920 --> 00:08:28,120 Speaker 3: The process, if you speak to any woman who's had it, 141 00:08:28,200 --> 00:08:29,920 Speaker 3: or couples that have gone through it, is it's quite 142 00:08:29,920 --> 00:08:33,600 Speaker 3: an intensive process to prepare for it, for the extraction 143 00:08:33,679 --> 00:08:36,360 Speaker 3: of the eggs and then essentially the fertilization of the 144 00:08:36,360 --> 00:08:39,040 Speaker 3: sperm and egg happened in the lab, and then once 145 00:08:39,080 --> 00:08:42,720 Speaker 3: there's confirmed fertilization and just a little bit of growth 146 00:08:42,800 --> 00:08:45,360 Speaker 3: of the embryo, it is then implanted, and you know, 147 00:08:45,400 --> 00:08:48,640 Speaker 3: there's a question of whether the women's uterusm will accept 148 00:08:48,640 --> 00:08:51,880 Speaker 3: the tissue and whether it will attach appropriately, and then 149 00:08:52,000 --> 00:08:55,280 Speaker 3: there continue to be questions and a risk of unsuccessful 150 00:08:55,320 --> 00:08:59,760 Speaker 3: implantation or miscarriage is a very significant risk. This is 151 00:08:59,760 --> 00:09:04,880 Speaker 3: an amazing miracle of reproductive health technology that's advanced fertility 152 00:09:04,880 --> 00:09:07,160 Speaker 3: and in recent decades that's made this a possibility. But 153 00:09:07,240 --> 00:09:09,840 Speaker 3: I'd personally know multiple couples that have had to go 154 00:09:09,920 --> 00:09:12,840 Speaker 3: through round after round of this procedure, and that was 155 00:09:12,920 --> 00:09:18,040 Speaker 3: with implanting multiple embryos just to get to successful pregnancy, 156 00:09:18,080 --> 00:09:22,040 Speaker 3: and so basically this has eliminated the possibility of more 157 00:09:22,080 --> 00:09:25,080 Speaker 3: than one embryo being implanted, and it means that the 158 00:09:25,080 --> 00:09:28,760 Speaker 3: odds of each IVF attempt are now reduced. If you 159 00:09:28,840 --> 00:09:31,040 Speaker 3: do it in Alabama, where you certainly can't do more 160 00:09:31,080 --> 00:09:33,680 Speaker 3: than one embryo, and it's become higher risk. I suppose 161 00:09:33,760 --> 00:09:36,720 Speaker 3: most fertility doctors would probably do two and allow for 162 00:09:36,760 --> 00:09:39,640 Speaker 3: the possibility of twins if that's acceptable to the mother. 163 00:09:39,880 --> 00:09:43,120 Speaker 3: But you're really still narrowing the chances of a successful 164 00:09:43,280 --> 00:09:47,000 Speaker 3: implantation and a successful pregnancy delivered to terms. So it's 165 00:09:47,080 --> 00:09:48,760 Speaker 3: very likely that women will have to do this more 166 00:09:48,840 --> 00:09:50,960 Speaker 3: and that also is compounded by the fact that, in 167 00:09:50,960 --> 00:09:54,800 Speaker 3: addition to being difficult and emotionally stressful, it's extremely expensive 168 00:09:55,040 --> 00:09:58,200 Speaker 3: and very few people have the resources to repeat this 169 00:09:58,280 --> 00:10:02,240 Speaker 3: process over and over again with out significant financial backing. 170 00:10:02,720 --> 00:10:06,080 Speaker 1: As we said, the ruling is only valid in Alabama, 171 00:10:06,200 --> 00:10:10,280 Speaker 1: but at least eleven states have broadly defined personhood is 172 00:10:10,440 --> 00:10:14,560 Speaker 1: beginning at fertilization in their state laws. So can we 173 00:10:14,720 --> 00:10:19,880 Speaker 1: expect the anti abortion movement to start pushing decisions like 174 00:10:19,920 --> 00:10:21,800 Speaker 1: this in other states? Yeah? 175 00:10:21,840 --> 00:10:26,080 Speaker 3: Absolutely. The logic of the decision here is something that 176 00:10:26,240 --> 00:10:29,240 Speaker 3: the right to life movement is supportive of, which is 177 00:10:29,400 --> 00:10:32,080 Speaker 3: sort of treating embryos with more sanctity in all of 178 00:10:32,080 --> 00:10:35,560 Speaker 3: these states and eliminating practices that have bothered them for 179 00:10:35,559 --> 00:10:36,080 Speaker 3: a long time. 180 00:10:36,160 --> 00:10:36,280 Speaker 4: Right. 181 00:10:36,480 --> 00:10:38,760 Speaker 3: Like I said, already, in the last fifteen years, certain 182 00:10:38,800 --> 00:10:42,640 Speaker 3: practices in fertility have already gone away under pressure, including 183 00:10:42,679 --> 00:10:45,559 Speaker 3: the practice of implanting multiple embryos and then doing a 184 00:10:45,600 --> 00:10:48,480 Speaker 3: reduction to remove embryos to get to the right number. 185 00:10:48,679 --> 00:10:50,400 Speaker 3: It would not be surprising to see the law in 186 00:10:50,440 --> 00:10:52,760 Speaker 3: all of these states, and it is a logical implication 187 00:10:53,000 --> 00:10:55,480 Speaker 3: of saying that life begins a conception. So I think 188 00:10:55,559 --> 00:10:58,319 Speaker 3: this position is going to be supported by the pro 189 00:10:58,360 --> 00:11:00,120 Speaker 3: life community, and I think the rest of us are 190 00:11:00,160 --> 00:11:02,280 Speaker 3: going to have to figure out how to deal with it. 191 00:11:02,640 --> 00:11:05,200 Speaker 1: Would you say this is a new chapter in the 192 00:11:05,440 --> 00:11:08,480 Speaker 1: continuing fight over women's reproductive rights. 193 00:11:09,040 --> 00:11:10,719 Speaker 3: Yeah, I do think this is in the sense of 194 00:11:10,760 --> 00:11:13,160 Speaker 3: new chapter. I don't think people should be surprised. We've 195 00:11:13,160 --> 00:11:15,679 Speaker 3: seen the implications already pose the repeal of Roe v. 196 00:11:15,800 --> 00:11:18,480 Speaker 3: Wade with regard to not just abortion, but with regards 197 00:11:18,520 --> 00:11:22,080 Speaker 3: to miscarriage treatment, and seeing it extended into fertility. This 198 00:11:22,120 --> 00:11:25,240 Speaker 3: is something that was absolutely predicted right after the repeal, 199 00:11:25,480 --> 00:11:28,800 Speaker 3: people should not be surprised to see contraception be the 200 00:11:28,840 --> 00:11:33,160 Speaker 3: next battlefield. And these questions all are really going to 201 00:11:33,200 --> 00:11:35,680 Speaker 3: push at what most of us have accepted as the 202 00:11:35,720 --> 00:11:39,840 Speaker 3: traditional you know, right round reproduction, reproductive health access that 203 00:11:39,880 --> 00:11:41,679 Speaker 3: women had and that all of us that none of 204 00:11:41,679 --> 00:11:44,680 Speaker 3: it should surprise anybody who was thinking through the implications 205 00:11:44,800 --> 00:11:45,920 Speaker 3: when this repeal happened. 206 00:11:46,040 --> 00:11:48,440 Speaker 1: And we're certain to see more of these ripple effects 207 00:11:48,440 --> 00:11:53,000 Speaker 1: from the Supreme Court's decision to overturn ROW. Thanks so much, Harry. 208 00:11:53,200 --> 00:11:56,200 Speaker 1: That's Harry Nelson of Nelson Hardiman coming up next on 209 00:11:56,200 --> 00:11:59,880 Speaker 1: the Bloomberg Law Show. The Supreme Court signals it's done 210 00:12:00,040 --> 00:12:03,600 Speaker 1: with affirmative action, at least for now. Remember you can 211 00:12:03,640 --> 00:12:06,000 Speaker 1: always get the latest legal news by listening to our 212 00:12:06,000 --> 00:12:09,839 Speaker 1: Bloomberg Lawn podcast wherever you get your favorite podcasts. I'm 213 00:12:09,920 --> 00:12:11,840 Speaker 1: June Grosso and you're listening to Bloomberg. 214 00:12:12,880 --> 00:12:13,600 Speaker 5: I'm very rich. 215 00:12:13,760 --> 00:12:15,400 Speaker 6: I built an unbelievable company. 216 00:12:16,160 --> 00:12:17,679 Speaker 1: All my life I made money. 217 00:12:17,760 --> 00:12:18,280 Speaker 4: I made money. 218 00:12:18,320 --> 00:12:19,600 Speaker 5: I've always been good making money. 219 00:12:20,160 --> 00:12:24,840 Speaker 2: I have made billions of dollars in business making deals. 220 00:12:25,320 --> 00:12:29,080 Speaker 1: Donald Trump has never been shy about how much money 221 00:12:29,080 --> 00:12:33,679 Speaker 1: he has, even though his actual finances are notoriously opaque. 222 00:12:33,760 --> 00:12:37,360 Speaker 1: But when it comes to his staggering legal expenses, it's 223 00:12:37,440 --> 00:12:41,439 Speaker 1: not Trump who's footing the bill. It's political action committees 224 00:12:41,480 --> 00:12:45,280 Speaker 1: and allied groups paying. The former president spend fifty one 225 00:12:45,320 --> 00:12:48,440 Speaker 1: point two million dollars to pay his lawyers last year, 226 00:12:48,840 --> 00:12:51,240 Speaker 1: and he has more than twenty three million he can 227 00:12:51,320 --> 00:12:55,000 Speaker 1: still tap, but as his four criminal cases ramp up, 228 00:12:55,240 --> 00:12:58,720 Speaker 1: those funds are expected to run out around July, just 229 00:12:58,840 --> 00:13:02,920 Speaker 1: as his presidential campaign ramps up spending for an expected 230 00:13:03,000 --> 00:13:06,200 Speaker 1: rematch with President Joe Biden. And then there are the 231 00:13:06,280 --> 00:13:09,720 Speaker 1: judgments against him, which so far exceed a half a 232 00:13:09,760 --> 00:13:13,080 Speaker 1: billion dollars, and those can't be paid by packs. 233 00:13:13,360 --> 00:13:16,200 Speaker 5: If he does not have funds to pay off the judgment, 234 00:13:17,040 --> 00:13:21,720 Speaker 5: then we will seek, you know, judgment enforcement mechanisms in court, 235 00:13:22,400 --> 00:13:25,440 Speaker 5: and we will ask the judge to seize his assets. 236 00:13:26,000 --> 00:13:29,600 Speaker 1: New York Attorney General Letitia James says, if Trump doesn't 237 00:13:29,600 --> 00:13:32,360 Speaker 1: come up with the nearly four hundred and fifty million 238 00:13:32,400 --> 00:13:36,719 Speaker 1: dollar penalty in the civil fraud case, she'll seize his assets, 239 00:13:37,160 --> 00:13:40,080 Speaker 1: including his skyscraper near her office. 240 00:13:40,920 --> 00:13:43,880 Speaker 5: We are prepared to make sure that the judgment is 241 00:13:43,960 --> 00:13:47,079 Speaker 5: paid to New Yorkers, And yes, I look at forty 242 00:13:47,080 --> 00:13:48,440 Speaker 5: Wall Street each and every day. 243 00:13:48,720 --> 00:13:53,120 Speaker 1: Joining me is Bill Allison, Bloomberg's campaign finance reporter. Trump 244 00:13:53,160 --> 00:13:56,240 Speaker 1: has a reputation for not paying his lawyers. Do all 245 00:13:56,280 --> 00:13:58,600 Speaker 1: these legal fees mean he's paying his. 246 00:13:58,640 --> 00:14:02,440 Speaker 6: Lawyers now definite only seeing payments from his political committees, 247 00:14:02,480 --> 00:14:04,960 Speaker 6: which have to report the money that they spend to 248 00:14:05,000 --> 00:14:07,440 Speaker 6: the federal Election Commission. So yes, he is paying his 249 00:14:07,520 --> 00:14:09,840 Speaker 6: legal bills this time around. And you know, do some 250 00:14:09,880 --> 00:14:11,960 Speaker 6: of these fees go to help you know, aids and 251 00:14:12,080 --> 00:14:13,680 Speaker 6: others who are kind of caught up in some of 252 00:14:13,720 --> 00:14:15,240 Speaker 6: these cases that involved the president. 253 00:14:15,440 --> 00:14:19,440 Speaker 1: So how much did he spend on legal expenses last 254 00:14:19,520 --> 00:14:20,400 Speaker 1: year and. 255 00:14:20,240 --> 00:14:23,920 Speaker 6: What does that leave Trump spent more than fifty one 256 00:14:24,160 --> 00:14:26,600 Speaker 6: million dollars on legal expenses last year. And this is 257 00:14:26,640 --> 00:14:29,640 Speaker 6: all through one leadership pack called Save America, which was 258 00:14:29,720 --> 00:14:32,880 Speaker 6: kind of his political vehicle set up after his presidency 259 00:14:33,080 --> 00:14:35,640 Speaker 6: and before he was a candidate to raise and spend money. 260 00:14:35,880 --> 00:14:38,880 Speaker 6: Right now, Trump has about twenty three point five million 261 00:14:38,920 --> 00:14:41,560 Speaker 6: dollars that he can tap for his legal defense. That 262 00:14:41,640 --> 00:14:45,720 Speaker 6: includes a little less than eighteen million dollars that's currently 263 00:14:45,800 --> 00:14:48,520 Speaker 6: held by a super pack. That super pack which is 264 00:14:48,560 --> 00:14:51,480 Speaker 6: the principal one backing his campaign, has been slowly refunding 265 00:14:51,520 --> 00:14:53,880 Speaker 6: money to his Leadership Pack, which can then use the 266 00:14:53,880 --> 00:14:56,440 Speaker 6: money to spend on legal fees. So he has that 267 00:14:56,600 --> 00:14:59,080 Speaker 6: eighteen million dollars left. That's all it's left from a 268 00:14:59,120 --> 00:15:03,040 Speaker 6: contribution of sixty million dollars that this Leadership Pack made 269 00:15:03,040 --> 00:15:05,560 Speaker 6: to the super Pac in twenty twenty two is kind 270 00:15:05,560 --> 00:15:08,040 Speaker 6: of its initial seed capital. And so now what Trump 271 00:15:08,080 --> 00:15:10,840 Speaker 6: is essentially doing is he's raising money from big donors 272 00:15:10,840 --> 00:15:13,480 Speaker 6: for his superpack and using that money to refund it 273 00:15:13,520 --> 00:15:15,640 Speaker 6: to his leadership pack to pay his legal fee. There's 274 00:15:15,640 --> 00:15:18,360 Speaker 6: a very kind of complicated transaction, but this is Donald 275 00:15:18,360 --> 00:15:19,320 Speaker 6: Trump we're talking about. 276 00:15:19,560 --> 00:15:22,840 Speaker 1: I confess I don't know very much about packs. Why 277 00:15:22,920 --> 00:15:26,320 Speaker 1: all this transferring of money, It sounds a little shady. 278 00:15:26,680 --> 00:15:29,720 Speaker 6: So the reason he transferred this money to the super 279 00:15:29,720 --> 00:15:32,160 Speaker 6: Pac and twenty twenty two is is that a leadership 280 00:15:32,200 --> 00:15:35,880 Speaker 6: pack could only spend five thousand dollars on Trump's own campaign, 281 00:15:36,120 --> 00:15:38,280 Speaker 6: and he had tens of millions of dollars left in 282 00:15:38,320 --> 00:15:40,760 Speaker 6: Save America at the end of twenty twenty two, so 283 00:15:40,800 --> 00:15:43,160 Speaker 6: he couldn't give that money to his campaign. He couldn't 284 00:15:43,200 --> 00:15:45,400 Speaker 6: spend it on his campaign. What he could do was 285 00:15:45,520 --> 00:15:48,640 Speaker 6: donate it to an allied superpack. Now there are campaign 286 00:15:48,640 --> 00:15:51,920 Speaker 6: finance lawyers who believe that this is very problematic and 287 00:15:52,000 --> 00:15:55,000 Speaker 6: probably violates the law. There are others who say, know 288 00:15:55,080 --> 00:15:58,360 Speaker 6: that this is like a legitimate contribution because the super 289 00:15:58,400 --> 00:16:02,040 Speaker 6: pac didn't initially support Trump supported Senate candidates and House 290 00:16:02,040 --> 00:16:05,080 Speaker 6: candidates that Heat endorsed. What's fairly clear, though, is is that, 291 00:16:05,120 --> 00:16:07,120 Speaker 6: you know, if these super PACs are really supposed to 292 00:16:07,120 --> 00:16:09,640 Speaker 6: be independent, it's a little odd that it would be 293 00:16:09,720 --> 00:16:12,600 Speaker 6: giving back so far about forty three million dollars to 294 00:16:12,680 --> 00:16:15,280 Speaker 6: a single donor. You know, super packs generally are not 295 00:16:15,320 --> 00:16:17,960 Speaker 6: in the business of making refunds out of that large. 296 00:16:17,720 --> 00:16:21,200 Speaker 1: So I take it that it is legal to use 297 00:16:21,280 --> 00:16:24,200 Speaker 1: money from super packs for your legal expenses. 298 00:16:24,680 --> 00:16:26,520 Speaker 6: See, actually it's not, And this is kind of why 299 00:16:26,560 --> 00:16:29,160 Speaker 6: he's going to pickle. It is legal for the super 300 00:16:29,200 --> 00:16:32,240 Speaker 6: pac to refund money to a donor. In this case, 301 00:16:32,280 --> 00:16:35,280 Speaker 6: it's Save America. His leadership pack is paying his legal fees. 302 00:16:35,440 --> 00:16:39,080 Speaker 6: But once the super pack has refunded all the money 303 00:16:39,200 --> 00:16:43,000 Speaker 6: that was initially donated by the leadership Pack, he can't 304 00:16:43,000 --> 00:16:45,960 Speaker 6: tap that money anymore. So that's why we're coming up 305 00:16:45,960 --> 00:16:47,720 Speaker 6: with a figure that you know, roughly he is about 306 00:16:47,720 --> 00:16:49,680 Speaker 6: twenty three and a half million dollars left. Part of 307 00:16:49,680 --> 00:16:51,680 Speaker 6: that is what is in his leadership pack, and part 308 00:16:51,680 --> 00:16:53,480 Speaker 6: of it is what he's yet to refund from the 309 00:16:53,520 --> 00:16:55,040 Speaker 6: super pac to the leadership pack. 310 00:16:55,680 --> 00:17:00,600 Speaker 1: Very confusing. Is anyone actually paying attention to what happens 311 00:17:00,600 --> 00:17:01,560 Speaker 1: with these packs? 312 00:17:01,840 --> 00:17:04,480 Speaker 6: You know, I'm really sort of surprised because usually you 313 00:17:04,480 --> 00:17:06,679 Speaker 6: would see like a lot of complaints filed by the 314 00:17:06,720 --> 00:17:09,760 Speaker 6: different campaign finance watchdog groups. I mean, there's been a few, 315 00:17:09,840 --> 00:17:12,160 Speaker 6: but there's been sort of quiet, and we haven't seen 316 00:17:12,200 --> 00:17:14,720 Speaker 6: like sort of the you know, every transaction and every 317 00:17:15,040 --> 00:17:19,480 Speaker 6: questionable transfer being challenged by some group that has a 318 00:17:19,560 --> 00:17:22,720 Speaker 6: very literal view of campaign finance regulations. I think part 319 00:17:22,760 --> 00:17:25,199 Speaker 6: of that maybe because you know, the system is so 320 00:17:25,280 --> 00:17:28,760 Speaker 6: awash in money and both sides are drowning in political 321 00:17:28,800 --> 00:17:32,520 Speaker 6: money that there may be less incentive for Democrats and 322 00:17:32,560 --> 00:17:34,879 Speaker 6: the Federal Election Commission, which is made up, let's face it, 323 00:17:34,920 --> 00:17:38,000 Speaker 6: of Republicans and Democrats to police the system as vigorously 324 00:17:38,000 --> 00:17:40,280 Speaker 6: as they once did, which was not very vigorouspect in 325 00:17:40,320 --> 00:17:42,280 Speaker 6: the day. But yeah, I mean it's been strange that 326 00:17:42,359 --> 00:17:44,800 Speaker 6: this has really kind of been under the raidar that 327 00:17:44,840 --> 00:17:47,200 Speaker 6: a lot of this has happened without getting called out 328 00:17:47,240 --> 00:17:50,760 Speaker 6: by some of the groups that are concerned about campaign 329 00:17:50,840 --> 00:17:52,120 Speaker 6: finance laws being enforced. 330 00:17:52,680 --> 00:17:55,080 Speaker 1: Now, is there any estimate of how much he might 331 00:17:55,160 --> 00:17:58,040 Speaker 1: have to spend in legal fees over the next year. 332 00:17:58,640 --> 00:18:01,119 Speaker 6: I don't know that there's a science estimate. There are 333 00:18:01,160 --> 00:18:03,359 Speaker 6: some people who say that, you know, he may end 334 00:18:03,440 --> 00:18:06,399 Speaker 6: up spending double what he spent last year, but you know, 335 00:18:06,400 --> 00:18:08,400 Speaker 6: we really don't know. I mean, you know, cases can 336 00:18:08,400 --> 00:18:10,560 Speaker 6: be dismissed, the cases can be thrown out of court, 337 00:18:10,680 --> 00:18:13,680 Speaker 6: and conversely, cases can drag on. You can have appeals, 338 00:18:13,720 --> 00:18:16,760 Speaker 6: you can have lengthy pre trial proceedings before you even 339 00:18:16,840 --> 00:18:19,320 Speaker 6: get to a trial date. So it's going to be 340 00:18:19,359 --> 00:18:21,000 Speaker 6: a lot of money. I mean, that's that's the one 341 00:18:21,000 --> 00:18:22,399 Speaker 6: thing that everybody agrees on. 342 00:18:22,760 --> 00:18:25,640 Speaker 1: Yeah, I think those legal fees are going to skyrocket. 343 00:18:25,880 --> 00:18:29,080 Speaker 1: In January alone, a Trump a line pack spent two 344 00:18:29,160 --> 00:18:31,960 Speaker 1: point nine million dollars on legal fees, and he has 345 00:18:31,960 --> 00:18:35,560 Speaker 1: the hush money payments trial coming up next month, possibly 346 00:18:35,600 --> 00:18:39,480 Speaker 1: the DC election interference trial after that, and then the 347 00:18:39,520 --> 00:18:43,120 Speaker 1: fact that he appeals almost every decision and some go 348 00:18:43,200 --> 00:18:45,600 Speaker 1: all the way to the Supreme Court exactly. 349 00:18:45,640 --> 00:18:48,080 Speaker 6: And those delays actually cost a lot of money because 350 00:18:48,119 --> 00:18:51,280 Speaker 6: what you're paying is lawyers to you know, research court 351 00:18:51,320 --> 00:18:54,880 Speaker 6: cases and come up with reasons to delay or throw 352 00:18:54,920 --> 00:18:57,920 Speaker 6: out or otherwise hinder these cases against him. 353 00:18:58,280 --> 00:19:01,400 Speaker 1: So he's still getting online content where he puts ten 354 00:19:01,440 --> 00:19:05,080 Speaker 1: percent to legal expenses. So what does he do when 355 00:19:05,240 --> 00:19:07,800 Speaker 1: the money for the legal expenses runs out? Where does 356 00:19:07,800 --> 00:19:08,120 Speaker 1: he go? 357 00:19:08,400 --> 00:19:10,199 Speaker 6: Well, there's a couple of different things he could do. 358 00:19:10,280 --> 00:19:12,679 Speaker 6: I mean, assuming that he's the party's nominee and it 359 00:19:12,720 --> 00:19:15,240 Speaker 6: looks like he will be, the Republican National Committee could 360 00:19:15,280 --> 00:19:18,320 Speaker 6: pay his legal bills, and you know, there's a dedicated 361 00:19:18,359 --> 00:19:21,760 Speaker 6: account that the Republican Party raises money for to pay 362 00:19:21,800 --> 00:19:25,199 Speaker 6: for legal expenses. The maximum donation, if you count the 363 00:19:25,240 --> 00:19:27,200 Speaker 6: hard money, is more than one hundred and sixty five 364 00:19:27,240 --> 00:19:29,760 Speaker 6: thousand dollars that an individual donor could give. When you 365 00:19:29,760 --> 00:19:31,760 Speaker 6: get like, you know, one hundred or one thousand donors 366 00:19:31,800 --> 00:19:34,119 Speaker 6: giving that much, it starts to be some real money. 367 00:19:34,240 --> 00:19:36,960 Speaker 6: So that's one option. Another option is to increase the 368 00:19:37,000 --> 00:19:40,199 Speaker 6: percentage he's getting from small dollar donors and other donors, 369 00:19:40,440 --> 00:19:42,840 Speaker 6: both giving up to thirty three hundred dollars to his 370 00:19:42,960 --> 00:19:45,480 Speaker 6: campaign and you know, diverting more of that to save 371 00:19:45,560 --> 00:19:48,679 Speaker 6: America once he's the nominee, and you know, once we 372 00:19:48,720 --> 00:19:50,639 Speaker 6: get towards the general election, I mean, the closer the 373 00:19:50,680 --> 00:19:53,880 Speaker 6: election gets, the bigger the monthly totals get for campaigns. 374 00:19:54,160 --> 00:19:56,880 Speaker 6: It's possible that you know, diverting ten percent, he might 375 00:19:56,920 --> 00:19:59,000 Speaker 6: have enough money, you know, depending on how big the 376 00:19:59,080 --> 00:20:01,119 Speaker 6: legal bills are, to pay those legal bills out of 377 00:20:01,119 --> 00:20:03,760 Speaker 6: the leadership pack. But at that point probably I mean, 378 00:20:03,840 --> 00:20:06,919 Speaker 6: the most precious money in a political campaign, you know, 379 00:20:07,080 --> 00:20:10,199 Speaker 6: an election campaign is what your campaign committee raises. You 380 00:20:10,320 --> 00:20:12,040 Speaker 6: have the most freedom to use it. You can use 381 00:20:12,040 --> 00:20:13,520 Speaker 6: it in the most ways. You don't have all the 382 00:20:13,520 --> 00:20:16,680 Speaker 6: restrictions the party, your super pack or other money has. 383 00:20:16,840 --> 00:20:19,520 Speaker 6: And so siphoning some of that money off I'm sure 384 00:20:19,600 --> 00:20:22,280 Speaker 6: is not an attractive prospect for you know, his campaign 385 00:20:22,320 --> 00:20:23,840 Speaker 6: strategists and for the president. 386 00:20:24,119 --> 00:20:27,280 Speaker 1: You left out bill he could pay the legal expenses 387 00:20:27,520 --> 00:20:29,000 Speaker 1: himself from his own money. 388 00:20:30,280 --> 00:20:31,960 Speaker 6: Well if that is true too, But this is I 389 00:20:32,000 --> 00:20:33,760 Speaker 6: think another problem for him is that, you know, he 390 00:20:33,880 --> 00:20:35,960 Speaker 6: just had this three hundred and sixty four million dollar 391 00:20:36,040 --> 00:20:38,359 Speaker 6: judgment in the civil case in New York about the 392 00:20:38,560 --> 00:20:41,639 Speaker 6: fraud alleged and his accounting practices and the valuation of 393 00:20:41,680 --> 00:20:43,800 Speaker 6: his assets. That obviously there's tens of millions of dollars 394 00:20:43,840 --> 00:20:45,680 Speaker 6: of interest that could be levied on top of that 395 00:20:45,760 --> 00:20:49,280 Speaker 6: since that figure was originally determined. So if he appeals 396 00:20:49,320 --> 00:20:51,080 Speaker 6: that case, he might have to put up a bond 397 00:20:51,160 --> 00:20:54,320 Speaker 6: that would tap his available cash. You know, Bloomberg's wealth 398 00:20:54,359 --> 00:20:57,280 Speaker 6: team estimates he's worth three point one billion dollars. The 399 00:20:57,359 --> 00:20:59,680 Speaker 6: thinking is he had about six hundred million dollars and 400 00:21:00,119 --> 00:21:03,800 Speaker 6: with cash. Although Trump's you know, finances are famously opaque, 401 00:21:04,400 --> 00:21:06,840 Speaker 6: he could certainly raise money. He could sell buildings and 402 00:21:06,880 --> 00:21:09,280 Speaker 6: things like that, but you know, it's questionable whether he'd 403 00:21:09,280 --> 00:21:11,120 Speaker 6: be willing to do that, and especially if he has 404 00:21:11,160 --> 00:21:14,199 Speaker 6: other options, like, you know, using the political system to 405 00:21:14,320 --> 00:21:15,520 Speaker 6: raise the money that way. 406 00:21:15,800 --> 00:21:18,400 Speaker 1: So that New York fraud verdict has ballooned to four 407 00:21:18,480 --> 00:21:22,359 Speaker 1: hundred and fifty four million dollars with interest, and on Thursday, 408 00:21:22,480 --> 00:21:27,320 Speaker 1: the judge rejected Trump's request to delay enforcing the judgments 409 00:21:27,359 --> 00:21:30,560 Speaker 1: for thirty days. And that fine is on top of 410 00:21:30,600 --> 00:21:34,639 Speaker 1: the eighty three point three million dollars verdict in the 411 00:21:34,640 --> 00:21:38,480 Speaker 1: e Gen Carrol defamation trial. So just with those two. 412 00:21:38,520 --> 00:21:42,520 Speaker 1: We're looking at five hundred and thirty seven point three 413 00:21:42,520 --> 00:21:47,679 Speaker 1: million dollars. So we talked about Trump using campaign funds 414 00:21:47,720 --> 00:21:51,679 Speaker 1: for his legal expenses. Can he use campaign funds to 415 00:21:51,800 --> 00:21:54,600 Speaker 1: pay these personal judgments against him? 416 00:21:55,000 --> 00:21:57,200 Speaker 6: You cannot pay the fines on the funds. So that's 417 00:21:57,240 --> 00:21:59,679 Speaker 6: the one thing he couldn't do, and the legal expense 418 00:21:59,760 --> 00:22:02,800 Speaker 6: is he can only pay because his argument is, and 419 00:22:02,840 --> 00:22:05,439 Speaker 6: I don't think it's necessarily a crazy argument, is that 420 00:22:05,560 --> 00:22:07,919 Speaker 6: had he not become a political figure, had he not 421 00:22:08,000 --> 00:22:10,200 Speaker 6: run for president, that all of the stems from him 422 00:22:10,200 --> 00:22:12,919 Speaker 6: becoming a candidate. Now, obviously the New York case, you know, 423 00:22:12,960 --> 00:22:15,359 Speaker 6: you could say that, well that was just real estate dealings. 424 00:22:15,400 --> 00:22:17,680 Speaker 6: But you know, he would argue that nobody went after 425 00:22:17,760 --> 00:22:19,760 Speaker 6: him before he ran for president, and you know, this 426 00:22:19,920 --> 00:22:23,679 Speaker 6: case was put together by an attorney general of partisan Democrats. 427 00:22:23,720 --> 00:22:26,480 Speaker 6: He would say, who's going after him? Because he's the 428 00:22:26,560 --> 00:22:29,359 Speaker 6: leader of the Republican Party. And it's offully hard to 429 00:22:29,400 --> 00:22:32,320 Speaker 6: prove motive. And obviously you can testify back and forth, 430 00:22:32,359 --> 00:22:34,840 Speaker 6: but I don't think the Federal Election Commission is likely 431 00:22:34,880 --> 00:22:37,080 Speaker 6: to challenge that contention at this later date. 432 00:22:37,600 --> 00:22:39,200 Speaker 1: But the finds a definite no. 433 00:22:39,600 --> 00:22:41,560 Speaker 6: The fines are a definite no yet. But the legal 434 00:22:41,560 --> 00:22:44,200 Speaker 6: expense is you know, it's the equivalent of a jail 435 00:22:44,280 --> 00:22:47,000 Speaker 6: sentence and in a sense of the judgment. And you 436 00:22:47,000 --> 00:22:49,120 Speaker 6: can't get it to the jail sentence by saying, well, 437 00:22:49,240 --> 00:22:51,600 Speaker 6: I was paying for it with money raised the election. 438 00:22:51,680 --> 00:22:54,840 Speaker 6: So the fine is like, that's his personal actions that 439 00:22:55,280 --> 00:22:57,840 Speaker 6: led to the finder, his company's actions, and you know, 440 00:22:57,840 --> 00:22:59,720 Speaker 6: you can't blame that on the political system. 441 00:23:00,000 --> 00:23:03,880 Speaker 1: You know, his campaign and groups spent more than they 442 00:23:04,000 --> 00:23:05,000 Speaker 1: raised last. 443 00:23:04,800 --> 00:23:07,879 Speaker 6: Year, right, and that was because you may remember that 444 00:23:08,000 --> 00:23:11,159 Speaker 6: after the twenty twenty election, he went on a fundraising 445 00:23:11,240 --> 00:23:13,640 Speaker 6: tear and I think he raised like two hundred million 446 00:23:13,680 --> 00:23:16,480 Speaker 6: dollars following the election, which is just you know, an 447 00:23:16,480 --> 00:23:18,800 Speaker 6: insane amount of money, and a right up till January sixth, 448 00:23:18,880 --> 00:23:21,120 Speaker 6: was raising money. He took a hiatus for a little 449 00:23:21,119 --> 00:23:23,440 Speaker 6: while after January sixth, but then was back by the 450 00:23:23,560 --> 00:23:26,359 Speaker 6: end of February raising money again. And he built up 451 00:23:26,400 --> 00:23:28,639 Speaker 6: this huge stockpile of money in twenty twenty one and 452 00:23:28,680 --> 00:23:31,800 Speaker 6: twenty twenty two. This is where the sixty million dollars 453 00:23:31,840 --> 00:23:35,159 Speaker 6: going to the superPAC came from. And anyway, so he 454 00:23:35,240 --> 00:23:38,000 Speaker 6: had money in the bank for both his campaign, although 455 00:23:38,040 --> 00:23:39,959 Speaker 6: it wasn't allowed. It was about three million dollars at 456 00:23:40,000 --> 00:23:42,119 Speaker 6: the beginning of twenty twenty three. But he also had 457 00:23:42,160 --> 00:23:44,199 Speaker 6: all of this money in the super Pac account, and 458 00:23:44,240 --> 00:23:46,359 Speaker 6: the leadership pack still had a lot of money left too. 459 00:23:46,960 --> 00:23:47,240 Speaker 3: Well. 460 00:23:47,359 --> 00:23:50,000 Speaker 1: The clock has started ticking for Trump. He says he's 461 00:23:50,040 --> 00:23:52,800 Speaker 1: going to appeal both the New York Civil fraud verdict 462 00:23:52,880 --> 00:23:55,960 Speaker 1: as well as the Egene Carol verdict, and he only 463 00:23:56,000 --> 00:23:59,200 Speaker 1: has thirty days from the date the judgments are finalized 464 00:23:59,200 --> 00:24:01,720 Speaker 1: to appeal. So that's the amount of time he has 465 00:24:01,760 --> 00:24:04,760 Speaker 1: to come up with the cash plus interest or get 466 00:24:04,760 --> 00:24:08,959 Speaker 1: a bond. Now. In the first five million dollar Egene 467 00:24:09,000 --> 00:24:13,200 Speaker 1: Carol verdict against him last year for sexual abuse and defamation, 468 00:24:13,880 --> 00:24:17,919 Speaker 1: he deposited five point five million dollars into a court fund. 469 00:24:18,320 --> 00:24:20,639 Speaker 1: So Bill will know in less than thirty days what 470 00:24:20,720 --> 00:24:23,159 Speaker 1: he decides to do. Thanks so much for being on 471 00:24:23,200 --> 00:24:27,440 Speaker 1: the show. That's Bill, Allison Bloomberg, campaign finance reporter. 472 00:24:28,600 --> 00:24:31,840 Speaker 4: I've heard the word diversity quite a few times and 473 00:24:31,880 --> 00:24:35,560 Speaker 4: I don't have a clue what it means. It seems 474 00:24:35,600 --> 00:24:37,840 Speaker 4: to mean everything for everyone. 475 00:24:38,240 --> 00:24:41,959 Speaker 1: That was Justice Clarence Thomas during oral arguments before the 476 00:24:42,000 --> 00:24:47,560 Speaker 1: Supreme Court's conservative justices barred colleges and universities from using 477 00:24:47,640 --> 00:24:51,000 Speaker 1: race and admissions for the sake of diversity last year. 478 00:24:51,359 --> 00:24:55,960 Speaker 1: But President Joe Biden understands diversity, and he encouraged schools 479 00:24:56,000 --> 00:24:59,480 Speaker 1: to continue to seek a diverse student body despite the 480 00:24:59,520 --> 00:25:02,919 Speaker 1: Supreme Court's decision they should not abandon their commitment to 481 00:25:03,000 --> 00:25:08,040 Speaker 1: ensure student bodies of diverse backgrounds and experience reflect all 482 00:25:08,119 --> 00:25:12,800 Speaker 1: of America. The decision left open questions about policies that 483 00:25:12,920 --> 00:25:18,240 Speaker 1: don't explicitly consider race but nonetheless affect a school's racial composition, 484 00:25:18,880 --> 00:25:22,119 Speaker 1: and schools across the country have been rethinking how to 485 00:25:22,200 --> 00:25:26,680 Speaker 1: attract a diverse student body using race neutral tools. At 486 00:25:26,680 --> 00:25:30,280 Speaker 1: the same time, racial preference opponents are bringing cases to 487 00:25:30,320 --> 00:25:34,040 Speaker 1: get the Court to expand its affirmative Action decision. But 488 00:25:34,160 --> 00:25:38,120 Speaker 1: on Tuesday, the Supreme Court decided not to step into 489 00:25:38,119 --> 00:25:41,880 Speaker 1: the fray again. The justices refused to review a Virginia 490 00:25:41,960 --> 00:25:46,360 Speaker 1: public high school's use of socioeconomic factors to diversify its 491 00:25:46,400 --> 00:25:52,280 Speaker 1: student body, with Justice's Thomas and Samuel Alito dissenting. Joining 492 00:25:52,280 --> 00:25:55,440 Speaker 1: me is Audrey Anderson, head of the higher education practice 493 00:25:55,680 --> 00:26:00,080 Speaker 1: at Bessbarian Simms. So the high school here claimed that 494 00:26:00,160 --> 00:26:04,840 Speaker 1: its admission standards were race neutral. Explain the policy change 495 00:26:04,880 --> 00:26:06,439 Speaker 1: that led to this lawsuit. 496 00:26:06,840 --> 00:26:08,960 Speaker 4: Yeah, Jan, there was really no question but that the 497 00:26:09,000 --> 00:26:12,600 Speaker 4: policy that the high school Thomas Jefferson are called TJ 498 00:26:13,440 --> 00:26:16,760 Speaker 4: was using before the change and after the change was 499 00:26:16,960 --> 00:26:21,200 Speaker 4: race neutral all the time. But the change that happened 500 00:26:21,240 --> 00:26:24,600 Speaker 4: was that for many years TJ had used a series 501 00:26:24,680 --> 00:26:28,920 Speaker 4: of entrance tests, which were the major way that they 502 00:26:29,040 --> 00:26:32,800 Speaker 4: chose students for admission to the high school. The students 503 00:26:32,840 --> 00:26:36,120 Speaker 4: had to take something like four different tests, and the 504 00:26:36,280 --> 00:26:40,000 Speaker 4: school board was looking at data and saw that the 505 00:26:40,400 --> 00:26:45,600 Speaker 4: students who were selected for TJ were not racially diverse. 506 00:26:45,840 --> 00:26:49,679 Speaker 4: There were not many black or Hispanic students. But also, 507 00:26:49,800 --> 00:26:53,520 Speaker 4: in fact, more importantly probably for the district, they came 508 00:26:53,600 --> 00:26:57,680 Speaker 4: primarily from only eight of the twenty six middle schools 509 00:26:58,040 --> 00:27:03,520 Speaker 4: that TJ served. Also, a TJ population did not have 510 00:27:03,720 --> 00:27:07,479 Speaker 4: very many low income students, so the district was something 511 00:27:07,600 --> 00:27:10,920 Speaker 4: like twenty three percent students who qualified for free introduced 512 00:27:11,000 --> 00:27:14,480 Speaker 4: price meals, and at TJ was something like one percent. 513 00:27:14,720 --> 00:27:17,119 Speaker 4: So the board wanted to be what they could do 514 00:27:17,240 --> 00:27:21,160 Speaker 4: in order to make the population at TJ more diverse 515 00:27:21,359 --> 00:27:27,080 Speaker 4: in a lot of different ways geographically, racially, socioeconomically, and 516 00:27:27,119 --> 00:27:30,959 Speaker 4: then also students who speak English as a second language. 517 00:27:31,119 --> 00:27:34,280 Speaker 4: So the policy they put in place got rid of 518 00:27:34,320 --> 00:27:38,280 Speaker 4: the entrance exams. There was still one problem solving exercise 519 00:27:38,320 --> 00:27:42,160 Speaker 4: students had to do, but the main change was that 520 00:27:42,560 --> 00:27:46,840 Speaker 4: they allocated seats by middle school, so every middle school 521 00:27:46,920 --> 00:27:50,280 Speaker 4: got a certain number of seats at TJ. And then 522 00:27:50,320 --> 00:27:53,639 Speaker 4: after those seats were allocated, there were some seats left 523 00:27:53,680 --> 00:27:56,760 Speaker 4: over for all applicants who had not gotten in through 524 00:27:56,800 --> 00:28:00,959 Speaker 4: their middle school process. They also looked at some factors, 525 00:28:01,280 --> 00:28:04,760 Speaker 4: you know, teacher recommendations, great point average, and they actually 526 00:28:04,840 --> 00:28:07,840 Speaker 4: raised the grade point average that was necessary from a 527 00:28:07,920 --> 00:28:10,119 Speaker 4: three to zero to a three point five. And then 528 00:28:10,160 --> 00:28:13,640 Speaker 4: they also looked at what they called experiential factor which 529 00:28:13,680 --> 00:28:17,520 Speaker 4: were socioeconomic status, whether the student came from a family 530 00:28:17,600 --> 00:28:21,160 Speaker 4: that spoke English as their first language, and whether their 531 00:28:21,200 --> 00:28:24,439 Speaker 4: school was a school that had traditionally not sent a 532 00:28:24,480 --> 00:28:26,040 Speaker 4: lot of students to TJ. 533 00:28:26,760 --> 00:28:29,640 Speaker 1: So the changes did seem to though have an effect 534 00:28:29,680 --> 00:28:33,199 Speaker 1: on the racial composition of the student body. After they 535 00:28:33,240 --> 00:28:37,000 Speaker 1: went into effect, the percentage of Asian American students offered 536 00:28:37,040 --> 00:28:40,480 Speaker 1: admissions dropped from seventy three percent to fifty four percent. 537 00:28:40,840 --> 00:28:44,040 Speaker 1: The percentage of black students grew from no more than 538 00:28:44,080 --> 00:28:47,480 Speaker 1: two percent to eight percent, the percentage of Hispanic students 539 00:28:47,520 --> 00:28:50,760 Speaker 1: grew from three percent to eleven percent, and the percentage 540 00:28:50,800 --> 00:28:54,400 Speaker 1: of white students from eighteen percent to twenty two percent. 541 00:28:54,840 --> 00:28:58,880 Speaker 4: Yes, and that can be expected. We know generally in 542 00:28:58,920 --> 00:29:02,640 Speaker 4: the United States there's a lot of residential segregation. People 543 00:29:02,720 --> 00:29:06,680 Speaker 4: tend to live in neighborhoods by race. So anytime that 544 00:29:06,800 --> 00:29:13,960 Speaker 4: you choose admissions policy that's going to equalize opportunity across 545 00:29:14,040 --> 00:29:18,120 Speaker 4: a whole school district, you're likely to get more racial 546 00:29:18,160 --> 00:29:21,320 Speaker 4: diversity than if you're only getting it from some parts 547 00:29:21,320 --> 00:29:25,760 Speaker 4: of the district. So by adopting a policy that said, hey, 548 00:29:25,760 --> 00:29:28,480 Speaker 4: look what we're getting now is students only from these 549 00:29:28,640 --> 00:29:31,920 Speaker 4: eight middle schools. Let's do something so that we get 550 00:29:31,960 --> 00:29:35,200 Speaker 4: them from all the middle schools in the county. Anyone 551 00:29:35,200 --> 00:29:39,120 Speaker 4: would expect that that would give you greater racial diversity. 552 00:29:39,720 --> 00:29:44,160 Speaker 1: The appeals court narrowly divided decide that the parents suing 553 00:29:44,400 --> 00:29:48,520 Speaker 1: over the changes to the school's admission requirements hadn't established 554 00:29:48,520 --> 00:29:52,360 Speaker 1: that the board adopted its race neutral policy with any 555 00:29:52,400 --> 00:29:55,560 Speaker 1: discriminatory intent. Is that the right standard? 556 00:29:56,080 --> 00:29:59,960 Speaker 4: Yes, I think that everybody agrees that the right legal 557 00:30:00,200 --> 00:30:04,160 Speaker 4: standard was used. I think that where the disagreement is 558 00:30:04,160 --> 00:30:08,959 Speaker 4: is in how they applied and looked at that standard. 559 00:30:09,320 --> 00:30:12,760 Speaker 4: So the biggest question, and the thing that Justice Alito 560 00:30:13,120 --> 00:30:16,360 Speaker 4: took issue with, is when you're trying to figure out 561 00:30:16,440 --> 00:30:19,640 Speaker 4: whether a policy that is race neutral on its base, 562 00:30:20,160 --> 00:30:23,480 Speaker 4: does it nonetheless violate the equal Protection clause because it's 563 00:30:23,560 --> 00:30:26,880 Speaker 4: racially discriminatory. One of the things you look at is 564 00:30:27,360 --> 00:30:32,360 Speaker 4: did the policy have a disproportionate impact on one race 565 00:30:32,800 --> 00:30:36,080 Speaker 4: rather than another? Because if it did, that's one piece 566 00:30:36,120 --> 00:30:38,760 Speaker 4: of evidence that would show that there might have been 567 00:30:39,200 --> 00:30:43,600 Speaker 4: racially discriminatory intent. You can't show that violates the equal 568 00:30:43,640 --> 00:30:47,280 Speaker 4: Protection clause just based on that, but that's one important 569 00:30:47,320 --> 00:30:50,520 Speaker 4: piece of evidence. So the question, though, is how do 570 00:30:50,520 --> 00:30:56,200 Speaker 4: you determine whether a policy has a racially disproportionate effect. 571 00:30:56,560 --> 00:30:59,080 Speaker 4: What Justice Alito says you have to do is you 572 00:30:59,160 --> 00:31:01,440 Speaker 4: have to look at how did that racial group faire 573 00:31:01,600 --> 00:31:04,760 Speaker 4: under the old policy, and now how do they fare 574 00:31:04,880 --> 00:31:08,200 Speaker 4: under the new policy. What the Fourth Circuit said and 575 00:31:08,240 --> 00:31:11,040 Speaker 4: what the school district says is that's the wrong way 576 00:31:11,040 --> 00:31:13,000 Speaker 4: to look at it. What you have to look at 577 00:31:13,160 --> 00:31:16,600 Speaker 4: is when you've got two different policies that are both 578 00:31:16,680 --> 00:31:18,680 Speaker 4: race neutral. You have to just look at the new 579 00:31:18,760 --> 00:31:24,640 Speaker 4: policy and say, how do different racial groups fare under 580 00:31:24,720 --> 00:31:30,440 Speaker 4: this new policy. Does this new policy put any barriers 581 00:31:30,480 --> 00:31:35,280 Speaker 4: based on race? And the Court of Appeal said it doesn't, 582 00:31:35,520 --> 00:31:39,960 Speaker 4: because even though the percentages of Asians went down under 583 00:31:40,000 --> 00:31:44,800 Speaker 4: the new policy, Asians as a group, their applications were 584 00:31:45,080 --> 00:31:48,440 Speaker 4: forty five percent of the application pool and they got 585 00:31:48,520 --> 00:31:53,520 Speaker 4: fifty four percent of the offers to attend TJ. So 586 00:31:53,600 --> 00:31:57,760 Speaker 4: that would show that they're not being disproportionately affected based 587 00:31:57,840 --> 00:32:01,240 Speaker 4: on their race under this new post policy. That's the 588 00:32:01,280 --> 00:32:04,000 Speaker 4: biggest thing that Justice Alito is upset about. 589 00:32:04,360 --> 00:32:08,000 Speaker 1: And Justice Thomas and Justice Thomas not a surprise because 590 00:32:08,040 --> 00:32:13,600 Speaker 1: these two are justices who have been consistently anti affirmative action. 591 00:32:13,880 --> 00:32:16,520 Speaker 4: Right, And I think what's also underlying this and it 592 00:32:16,600 --> 00:32:18,960 Speaker 4: comes out in the end of Justice Alito's opinion. And 593 00:32:19,000 --> 00:32:21,480 Speaker 4: if you look at the district court opinion, here the 594 00:32:21,560 --> 00:32:25,880 Speaker 4: trial court judge who found that the policy was unconstitutional, 595 00:32:26,160 --> 00:32:30,360 Speaker 4: he was very concerned that the school board was talking 596 00:32:30,560 --> 00:32:34,640 Speaker 4: about racial diversity at all. There is no evidence in 597 00:32:34,680 --> 00:32:38,200 Speaker 4: the record that any school board member wanted to hurt 598 00:32:38,320 --> 00:32:41,920 Speaker 4: Asian Americans with the new policy that they had a 599 00:32:42,120 --> 00:32:46,280 Speaker 4: goal of lessening the percentage of Asian Americans in the 600 00:32:46,320 --> 00:32:49,960 Speaker 4: school There's in fact evidence saying that they were concerned 601 00:32:50,320 --> 00:32:52,760 Speaker 4: that would look like or that they would be hurting 602 00:32:52,800 --> 00:32:56,360 Speaker 4: Asian Americans, But there's lots of evidence saying that they 603 00:32:56,440 --> 00:33:00,520 Speaker 4: wanted to increase the diversity. So I'm including the diversity 604 00:33:00,640 --> 00:33:04,480 Speaker 4: by race. But Judge Hilton, the district court judge, said 605 00:33:04,520 --> 00:33:08,680 Speaker 4: that just the discussion that they wanted to increase diversity 606 00:33:08,760 --> 00:33:12,640 Speaker 4: by race infected the whole process, and he used that 607 00:33:12,760 --> 00:33:17,400 Speaker 4: word infected, and Justice Alito uses the same kind of 608 00:33:17,600 --> 00:33:21,719 Speaker 4: language that it infects things. So the question that some 609 00:33:21,760 --> 00:33:24,560 Speaker 4: of us were really concerned about with this case is 610 00:33:25,120 --> 00:33:32,160 Speaker 4: can a governmental body even consider racial diversity? What the 611 00:33:32,240 --> 00:33:37,360 Speaker 4: outcome will be of a racially neutral policy on the 612 00:33:37,400 --> 00:33:41,400 Speaker 4: demographics of something. Is it okay if the school board 613 00:33:41,440 --> 00:33:45,080 Speaker 4: is saying, if we adopt this policy which is racially neutral, 614 00:33:45,480 --> 00:33:49,360 Speaker 4: it's going to affect the demographics of our schools in 615 00:33:49,440 --> 00:33:52,480 Speaker 4: this way? Can they do that now? At TJ As 616 00:33:52,520 --> 00:33:56,400 Speaker 4: it turns out, actually for the policy that they adopted, 617 00:33:56,720 --> 00:34:00,480 Speaker 4: they ran no racial statistics. They did not run a 618 00:34:00,520 --> 00:34:05,280 Speaker 4: simulation of if we adopt this policy policy it adopted, 619 00:34:05,560 --> 00:34:08,840 Speaker 4: what will the racial demographics of TJ look like? Their 620 00:34:08,960 --> 00:34:12,719 Speaker 4: folks told them they could not run that simulation, So 621 00:34:12,840 --> 00:34:15,640 Speaker 4: the choice that was actually made by the school board 622 00:34:15,760 --> 00:34:19,560 Speaker 4: was made without looking at what the racial demographics would be. 623 00:34:19,920 --> 00:34:24,560 Speaker 4: Choices they voted down. There were racial simulations run for, 624 00:34:25,040 --> 00:34:27,760 Speaker 4: but the choice they voted for it approved. No racial 625 00:34:27,760 --> 00:34:30,719 Speaker 4: simulation was done, which is also part of the evidence 626 00:34:30,719 --> 00:34:33,360 Speaker 4: here that I think might have made some on the 627 00:34:33,360 --> 00:34:36,120 Speaker 4: Supreme Court say, you know, even if we were interested 628 00:34:36,160 --> 00:34:38,120 Speaker 4: in this, this is not really the right case for. 629 00:34:38,160 --> 00:34:40,960 Speaker 1: Us to take. What does it tell you that the 630 00:34:41,000 --> 00:34:44,760 Speaker 1: Supreme Court turned this case away and at the beginning 631 00:34:44,960 --> 00:34:48,360 Speaker 1: of the month the Court decided to allow West Point 632 00:34:48,520 --> 00:34:51,440 Speaker 1: to continue using race as an admissions factor. 633 00:34:51,960 --> 00:34:54,040 Speaker 4: I think that the decisions made by the Court are 634 00:34:54,120 --> 00:34:57,760 Speaker 4: actually quite different. What they turned away at West Point 635 00:34:57,840 --> 00:35:04,120 Speaker 4: was emergency rel on a completely undeveloped record. I think 636 00:35:04,120 --> 00:35:06,520 Speaker 4: that the Court will still be very interested in the 637 00:35:06,520 --> 00:35:09,480 Speaker 4: West Point case after it makes its way through the 638 00:35:09,520 --> 00:35:12,839 Speaker 4: whole system. This case, they've turned it away and now 639 00:35:12,880 --> 00:35:15,839 Speaker 4: they will have no chance to review it. It is done, 640 00:35:16,000 --> 00:35:18,640 Speaker 4: it is on the books. I think that they're turning 641 00:35:18,680 --> 00:35:22,520 Speaker 4: it away says that they're just not interested in taking 642 00:35:22,560 --> 00:35:26,759 Speaker 4: it up so quickly after students for fair admissions, and 643 00:35:26,800 --> 00:35:29,880 Speaker 4: they do want to allow this area of the law 644 00:35:30,000 --> 00:35:33,799 Speaker 4: to what we say, percolate a little bit. We know 645 00:35:33,920 --> 00:35:36,920 Speaker 4: that Alito and Thomas are interested in this question. If 646 00:35:36,920 --> 00:35:39,280 Speaker 4: there are others who are interested in it on the court. 647 00:35:39,360 --> 00:35:42,320 Speaker 4: This case I think does not have a great record 648 00:35:42,440 --> 00:35:47,400 Speaker 4: for it because the policy actually adopted by the school district, 649 00:35:47,600 --> 00:35:51,120 Speaker 4: they did not run any racial simulations for and because 650 00:35:51,480 --> 00:35:56,720 Speaker 4: it is not only race neutral, it's completely race blind. 651 00:35:57,360 --> 00:36:02,879 Speaker 1: So anti affirmative action groups are testing these restrictions. Are 652 00:36:02,880 --> 00:36:06,759 Speaker 1: they making progress in any particular area or is it 653 00:36:06,800 --> 00:36:07,359 Speaker 1: too soon? 654 00:36:07,960 --> 00:36:10,720 Speaker 4: You know? We know they had the early cases against 655 00:36:10,800 --> 00:36:15,120 Speaker 4: some law firms for internship programs that were limited to 656 00:36:15,239 --> 00:36:19,000 Speaker 4: applicants based on their race, and law firms change those 657 00:36:19,040 --> 00:36:22,480 Speaker 4: programs to open them up to people of all races. 658 00:36:22,640 --> 00:36:25,960 Speaker 4: Those are some victories, and I think that by just 659 00:36:26,400 --> 00:36:31,080 Speaker 4: bringing those kinds of lawsuits it has made institutions in 660 00:36:31,200 --> 00:36:34,720 Speaker 4: all kinds of fields take a look at their programs 661 00:36:34,760 --> 00:36:40,919 Speaker 4: to say, are our programs really open to everyone regardless 662 00:36:40,960 --> 00:36:43,560 Speaker 4: of their race. We need to make sure that regardless 663 00:36:43,560 --> 00:36:46,879 Speaker 4: of what the goals are of our programs. Everybody has 664 00:36:46,960 --> 00:36:50,440 Speaker 4: to be able to have a place in them, and 665 00:36:50,719 --> 00:36:53,480 Speaker 4: so I think that even if they haven't had a 666 00:36:53,520 --> 00:36:56,440 Speaker 4: lot of legal victories yet, they have already made a 667 00:36:56,480 --> 00:36:57,280 Speaker 4: lot of change. 668 00:36:57,440 --> 00:37:01,080 Speaker 1: In Coming up next is Trump facing a cash crunch. 669 00:37:01,360 --> 00:37:04,040 Speaker 1: I'm June Grosso and you're listening to Bloomberg. And that's 670 00:37:04,080 --> 00:37:07,040 Speaker 1: it for this edition of the Bloomberg Law Podcast. Remember 671 00:37:07,080 --> 00:37:09,799 Speaker 1: you can always get the latest legal news by subscribing 672 00:37:09,840 --> 00:37:13,279 Speaker 1: and listening to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and 673 00:37:13,400 --> 00:37:17,880 Speaker 1: at Bloomberg dot com, Slash podcast, Slash Law. I'm June Grosso, 674 00:37:18,080 --> 00:37:19,560 Speaker 1: and this is Bloomberg