A New York appellate court threw former President Donald Trump a lifeline on Monday, reducing the bond in his civil fraud case from $454 million to $175 million.
Trump’s attorneys had asked for a stay in enforcement of Judge Engoron’s ruling pending appeal as Trump was unable to post the bond in the full amount, USA Today reported. The former president’s legal team requested the court to reduce the bond to $100 million.
Trump was liable for $454 million, most of the fraud judgment, and his co-defendants were liable for the remaining $10 million. The amount Trump owed had reportedly been increasing by more than $111,000 a day because of added interest.
The attorneys said in a court filing that 30 insurance companies had refused to take real estate as collateral in exchange for a bond to cover the draconian judgment in the case.
“[V]ery few bonding companies will consider a bond of anything approaching that magnitude,” they wrote. “The remaining handful will not ‘accept hard assets such as real estate as collateral,’ but ‘will only accept cash or cash equivalents (such as marketable securities).'”
The appellate court granted Trump a partial stay, giving Trump and his co-defendants ten days to post a $175 million bond, instead of the full $464 million.
If Trump does not meet the deadline, New York Attorney General Letitia James will still be able to make good on her threat to seize Trump’s assets.
George Washington University Law Professor Jonathan Turley said Monday that the appeals court’s decision has offered a “modicum of restraint in the Trump case.”
“It has A has given former President Donald Trump 10 more days to post a bond of $175 million,” Turley wrote on X. “That is likely doable and avoids the cliff drop set up by Engoron and James.”
The NY Court of Appeals has finally intervened to offer a modicum of restraint in the Trump case. It has A has given former President Donald Trump 10 more days to post a bond of $175 million. That is likely doable and avoids the cliff drop set up by Engoron and James.
— Jonathan Turley (@JonathanTurley) March 25, 2024
In a post on Truth Social shortly after the ruling, Trump wrote: “We will abide by the decision of the Appellate Division, and post either a bond, equivalent securities, or cash.”
He added: “This also shows how ridiculous and outrageous [Judge Arthur] Engoron’s original decision was at $450 Million,” Trump added. “I DID NOTHING WRONG, AND NEW YORK SHOULD NEVER BE PUT IN A POSITION LIKE THIS AGAIN. BUSINESSES ARE FLEEING, VIOLENT CRIME IS FLOURISHING, AND IT IS VERY IMPORTANT THAT THIS BE RESOLVED IN ITS TOTALITY AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. THANK YOU!”
In a subsequent post, Trump wrote: “Judge Engoron and Letitia James should be forced to explain why he ruled that Mar-a-Lago was worth $18,000,000 when, in fact, it is worth from 50 to 100 times that amount. How did the Attorney General of the State of New York force this Corrupt Judge to do that in order to help her narrative – AND WHY?”
Earlier this month, Trump secured a $91.6 million bond sufficient to cover the money he was ordered to pay his accuser E. Jean Carroll in a defamation lawsuit while he appeals the jury’s verdict.
The $454 million judgment that Trump — along with some business entities — is facing includes about $355 million in what trial Judge Arthur Engoron ruled were ill-gotten gains from fraudulently inflating assets to get better loan and insurance terms. The remainder is interest. Engoron also imposed judgments totaling about $10 million against Trump’s oldest sons, Don Jr. and Eric, and former Trump Organization Chief Financial Officer Allen Weisselberg.
“I greatly respect the decision of the appellate division and I’ll post the $175 million in cash or bonds or security or whatever is necessary very quickly within the 10 days, and I thank the appellate division for acting quickly,” Trump said Monday outside a New York courtroom in the case brought against him by DA Alvin Bragg. “Judge Engoron is a disgrace to this country and this should not be allowed to happen,” Trump added. “Thank you very much.”
Former President Trump: "I greatly respect the decision of the appellate division. And I'll be post either $175 million in cash or bonds or security or whatever is necessary very quickly, within the ten days. And I thank the appellate division for acting quickly." pic.twitter.com/ReJSn03eyE
— CSPAN (@cspan) March 25, 2024
During a 1:00 pm news conference on Wall Street, Trump said none of the prosecutions against him would have happened if he had decided not to run. “This is a sad day in this country,” he said.
"It's a SAD DAY FOR THIS COUNTRY … if I wasn't running, [this witch hunt] wouldn't be happening."
— President Donald J. Trump pic.twitter.com/SvuWXE0xUw
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) March 25, 2024
He called James “the most obnoxious and worst attorney general in the whole country.”
President Trump SHREDS crooked Letitia James — "the worst attorney general in the whole country." pic.twitter.com/WhLixtyJE4
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) March 25, 2024