Russian TV Host Wants to Buy Mar-a-Lago

Russian propagandists poked fun at Donald Trump's civil fraud case in New York, sarcastically expressing their interest in purchasing Mar-a-Lago and offering the former president a guesthouse on the premises.

Trump has been a mainstay at the trial overseen by New York Judge Arthur Engoron, in accordance with a $250 million lawsuit filed by the state's Attorney General Letitia James against Trump, his adult sons and the Trump Organization for allegedly overvaluing their properties by hundreds of millions of dollars in an effort to mislead banks and insurers and in turn secure favorable loans and other financial perks.

Mar-a-Lago, Trump's notable longtime property in Palm Beach, Florida, has been appraised by the county assessor at between $18 million and $27.6 million. Trump took umbrage with those figures, recently claiming that actual value "could be worth almost 100 times that amount." He told prosecutors in April 2022 that it is worth approximately $1.5 billion based on "broker talk" and Eric Trump referred to it as the "most valuable residential property" in the United States.

Vladimir Solovyov and Dmitry Drobnitsky discussed the Trump case on the state-sponsored Russia-1 media network, which was recorded and published on social media by Russian media watcher Julia Davis.

Drobnitsky explained to his counterpart that the claim made by James' lawsuit is that Mar-a-Lago is valued at $18 million but that it was routinely inflated to $400-500 million.

"Can I buy it for $18 million?" Solovyov asked. "The guys and I will go in on it if this can be bought for $18 million."

"Yes, of course, it's clearly stupid," Drobnitsky replied.

"The guys and I need it," Solovyov added, joking about Trump being called a Russian agent in the past. "We will open a Soviet, a Russian consular mission there with a villa for the embassy. We're ready to buy it."

"We will allocate one little house for Donald Trump to drink tea with him there," Drobnitsky said.

"We'll hire him to teach people how to handle golf balls," Solovyov said. "He loves golf, he can be an instructor."

Engoron's summary judgment last week, which ordered that some of their business licenses in New York be rescinded and that the companies that own the properties named in the judgment be handed over to independent receivers, drew a strong response from Trump, his sons and legal team.

The trial's first three days led to further arguments between Engoron and members of Trump's legal team, some of whom in the past have attempted to remove him from the case and even threatened to sue him.

Both sides have possessed short fuses, notably when discussing the apparent value of Mar-a-Lago and other Trump-owned properties in New York and otherwise.

Engoron has scolded Trump's counsel for their interpretation of how value is determined and appraised, even saying prior to the trial's commencement that the attorneys were living in a "fantasy world." He also fined each of them for mischaracterizations.

The New York judge also issued a gag order against Trump and his lawyers after the former president posted a photo of one of Engoron's clerks, attorney Allison Greenfield, with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer. Trump referred to the photo, which he later deleted, as proof of a romantic relationship and collusion by Democrats.