UPDATE: NEW YORK (AP) — A New York appellate judge on Wednesday refused to halt collection of Donald Trump’s $454 million civil fraud penalty while he appeals, rejecting the former president’s request that he be allowed to post a bond covering just a fraction of what he owes.
Judge Anil Singh of the state’s mid-level appeals court ruled that Trump must post a bond covering the full amount in order to stop enforcement of the judgment. Singh did grant some of Trump’s requests, including pausing a three-year ban on him seeking loans from New York banks — which could help him secure the necessary bond.
Trump’s lawyers told the appellate court earlier Wednesday that Trump was prepared to post a $100 million bond, arguing that the lending ban in the Feb. 16 verdict made it impossible for him to secure a bond for the full amount.
Judge Anil Singh
Donald J. Trump offered a New York appeals court on Wednesday a bond of only $100 million to pause the more than $450 million penalty he faces in his civil fraud case, a clear sign that the former president lacks the money to cover the full amount.
Mr. Trump, who is on the clock to either secure a bond from a company or produce the full amount himself, also asked the appeals court to pause enforcement of the financial penalty and a wide range of other punishments the judge levied. They include a prohibition on obtaining a loan from a New York bank for three years and a ban on running a company in the state during that same period.
In seeking relief, Mr. Trump’s lawyers disclosed that they would be unable to secure a bond for the full amount, raising the prospect that he might soon default on the judgment if the appeals court denies his request. Unless the appeals court accepts the $100 million bond or grants Mr. Trump additional time, the attorney general can collect at any moment. Under New York law, Ms. James, can seize Mr. Trump’s bank accounts and potentially take control of his New York properties.
In response to defense’s filing, an attorney for the New York attorney general pushed back against Trump’s plan to post a $100 million bond, arguing in their own filing that Trump and his co-defendants might attempt to evade enforcement of the $464 million judgment.
“Contrary to defendants’ argument, there is substantial risk that defendants will attempt to evade enforcement of the judgment (or make enforcement more difficult) following appeal,” the attorney general’s filing said.
Dennis Fan of the AG’s office suggested in the filing that Trump’s lawyers admitted the former president lacks the money to cover the judgment. “There is no merit to defendants’ contention that a full bond or deposit is unnecessary because they are willing to post a partial undertaking of less than a quarter of the judgment amount,” Fan wrote. “Defendants all but concede that Mr. Trump has insufficient liquid assets to satisfy the judgment; defendants would need ‘to raise capital’ to do so.”
