It’s been an eventful last few days for former president and presumptive Republican Party nominee Donald Trump. On May 31, twelve New York jurors found Trump guilty of all 34 counts related to falsifying records around hush money paid to buy the silence of an adult film star in advance of the 2016 election.
As both Trump and the country wait to hear the details of his sentence on July 11, much remains to be seen around how this will affect his re-election hopes.
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A month before the guilty verdict, Trump shed at least one of his assets when he transferred ownership of a Cessna Citation X aircraft for $2.5 million.
According to FAA forms first reported by The Guardian, the fixed wing multi-engine plane was sold to Dallas-based real estate holdings company MM Fleet Holdings tied to businessman Mehrdad Moayedi. The real estate developer is a prominent Republican donor who has at one point given the Trump campaign over $250,000.
Here is what you need to know about the plane Trump quietly sold
On the Trump Organization website, the Citation X is described as a “rocket in the sky” that is good for “entry into smaller airports.”
Aviation International News reported that the aircraft has registered more than 11,500 hours in flight; at one point, it was the primary plane that Trump used to travel across the country outside his time as President with access to Air Force One.
His trimmed collection now includes the Boeing 757 (BA) business jet that often appears in pictures with the emblazoned Trump name and several Sikorsky S76 helicopters.
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According to FAA records, the sale was announced in March while ownership was transferred in May. A month before the sale was finalized, a court ordered Trump to pay $454 million in a separate civil fraud case even as his legal team made movements to delay fine payments and appeal; the fines and court costs are only expected to rise as other civil cases against him in Florida and Washington, D.C. move forward.
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Trump found guilty; some consider effect on markets
Amid news of Trump’s guilty verdict, shares of the Trump Media & Technology (DJT) company slumped by nearly 10%. While it is too early in the election cycle to gauge how Trump’s legal woes will affect the wider stock markets, several experts have speculated that the uncertainty around him as a candidate (as well as the present lack of other options) will only lead to greater volatility across economic sectors.
While many companies will flounder and cause investors to pull out, there is also potential for some unexpected players to fill the gap.
“Any sell off in the market related to a geopolitical crisis or a domestic political crisis may actually turn out to be a buying opportunity,” Yardeni Research President Ed Yardeni told Yahoo Finance. “The market will continue to focus on what is most important, and that's the economy, and if politics affect that, then that will obviously have an impact on the stock market.”
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