With opening statements beginning at the criminal trial in Manhattan, another team of Trump lawyers will be busy down the street at Judge Engoron’s civil fraud trial, where AG Tish James is arguing the $175 million bond is not sufficient.
In order for Trump to appeal the civil case in Engoron’s court, a $175 million bond was necessary to pay the state in the event that he loses.
If the bond is rejected, James wants the court to allow seven days for TFG to find a new one, or see that his assets are seized.
The company behind the bond, Knight Speciality Insurance, was not admitted in New York, so AG James filed a notice requiring KSIC to show proof they are capable of paying the bond.
Trump and his co-defendants posted the $175 million bond collateralized using $175,304,075 held in a Charles Schwab brokerage account controlled by the Donald J. Trump Revocable Trust.
According to James' filing, Knight does not have the exclusive right to control the money in Trump's brokerage account, which could become problematic if the value of Trump's assets in the account dips below $175 million. James also raised issues with Knight's business practices, which she argued should make the company ineligible to do business in New York.
“KSIC is not qualified to act as the surety under this standard because its management has been found by federal authorities to have operated affiliated companies within KSIC’s holding company structure in violation of federal law on multiple occasions within the past several years,” the filing said.
The hearing is scheduled to begin at 10:00amET.