New York State asks court not to let Trump waive $454 million bail on fraud appeal
Election 2024
JENNIFER PELTZMarch 20, 2024
New York State Attorneys
on Wednesday
urged to appeal
Wednesday
not to buy a former president
Donald
Trump claims it is impossible to issue a bond that fully covers an amount of $454
–
million civil fraud judgment while he appeals.
The presumptive Republican nominee’s lawyers said earlier this week that he could not find an insurer willing to cover the full amount. But the state argues that Trump and his co-defendants did not explore all options.
Defendants fail to propose a serious alternative to fully secure the verdict,” Dennis Fan, an attorney with the attorney general’s office, wrote in documents sent to the appeals court.
He proposed
That
Those alternatives could include splitting the total among multiple bonds from different insurers, or letting a court hold some of Trump’s real estate while he appeals. The ex-president is challenging a judge’s ruling last month that he, his company and key executives inflated his wealth based on financial statements used to obtain loans and insurance.
Trump is unable to post a bond of more than $450 million in a civil fraud case, lawyers say
One of Trump’s lawyers, Christopher Kise, said in a statement that the papers showed
Attorney General Aty. Gene.
Letitia James’ continued willingness to misrepresent the facts and misinterpret applicable law in her political crusade against Trump. James is a Democrat, and Trump has repeatedly portrayed her as a partisan official trying to dent his campaign.
In a radio interview early Wednesday, Trump reiterated his complaints about the case, the verdict and the bond requirement.
They don’t even give you a chance to appeal. They want you to deposit money before the appeal is filed. So if you sell a property or do something, and then win the case, you don’t own the property, Trump said on WABC’s Sid & Friends
i
N
T
hi tomorrow.
According to the ruling, Trump must pay more than $454 million in fines and mounting interest; Some of his co-defendants owe additional money. So far, courts have said that if the former president wants to delay collection while he appeals, he will have to post a bond covering his entire liability.
New York judge refuses to halt Trump’s $454 million fine during appeal of fraud ruling
Trump said last year that he ha
D
Over $400 million in cash. But he now faces more than $543 million in personal legal liabilities resulting from verdicts in the civil fraud case brought by James and in two lawsuits brought by writer E. Jean Carroll. The advice columnist said Trump sexually assaulted her in the 1990s and then defamed her after she came forward in 2019.
He denies all accusations.
Trump recently posted a price of $91.6
–
million bond to cover the judgment, plus interest, in one of Carroll’s lawsuits. In the other he placed
well more than
$5 million bond while he appeals.
But in a lawsuit filed Monday, Trump’s lawyers asked the state appeals court to excuse him from posting $454 million in bail.
judgement
in the case of corporate fraud.
The lawyers wrote that this is not possible under the circumstances. They said insurers were pushing for cash or other liquid assets instead of real estate as collateral, which should cover 120% of the judgment, or more than $557 million.
Donald Trump is appealing the $454 million verdict in a civil fraud case in New York
Insurance broker Gary Giulietti, a Trump golf buddy who handles some of his company’s insurance needs and tested for him in the fraud trial, wrote in an affidavit that a bond of this size is rarely, if ever, seen. The few that are provided will go to large public companies, Giulietti said. Trump’s company is private.
But Fan, the lawyer for the attorney general’s office, wrote Wednesday that it is nothing unusual for even billion-dollar verdicts to be completely overturned on appeal, citing a handful of cases. This largely concerned listed companies.
Fan asked the appeals court to deny Trump’s request to suspend collection without bail while he appeals.
If the appeals court does not intervene, James could take steps to enforce the sentence on March 25. The attorney general has said she will try to seize some of Trump’s assets if he cannot pay.
Jennifer Peltz writes for the Associated Press. AP writers Michael R. Sisak and Jill Colvin contributed.
Fernando Dowling is an author and political journalist who writes for 24 News Globe. He has a deep understanding of the political landscape and a passion for analyzing the latest political trends and news.