Donald Trump, who lost a civil fraud case in New York last month, must put up a bond of nearly half-a-billion dollars if he wants to stop New York Attorney General Letitia James (D) from collecting while he appeals. James is poised to begin claiming his assets if he fails to put up the bond by Monday.
In February, Judge Arthur F. Engoron ruled that Trump, his two eldest sons and two of his executives submitted false data to lenders and insurance companies to secure better deals. Engoron ordered Trump and his co-defendants to pay $464 million, an amount that continues to grow at a rate of more than $100,000 per day. In the weeks since that judgment, the former president’s options have dwindled.
Trump’s attorneys have asked appellate judges to reduce, delay or waive the bond requirement. The appeals court has yet to reach a final decision.
His lawyers told an appellate court that they tried to get a bond through 30 different insurance companies but none offered one because they would not accept real estate — which accounts for most of Trump’s wealth — as collateral. Selling golf courses or hotels generally takes much longer than a few days or weeks, time he no longer has.
Trump, who has raged against Engoron’s decision and James on social media, is now down to a handful of mostly unpalatable outcomes. Here are the scenarios experts say could be the most likely to play out over coming days.
Nothing happens immediately
The appeals court generally issues rulings on Tuesdays and Thursdays, so there is very little chance it will act by Monday on Trump’s request to waive the bond requirement. If it doesn’t, and if Trump doesn’t post a bond by then, legal experts say there is nothing preventing James from calling on the New York City sheriffs or on city marshals to begin seizing his assets.
But there are reasons for her to wait. Legal experts say Trump has a chance of getting some type of relief from the appeals court. If James begins moving on his assets before the court rules, she may have to backtrack afterward. She also may consider the optics of moving quickly. As Nikos Passas, a Northeastern University criminology professor, put it: “She doesn’t want to be accused of being overly aggressive and unfair.”
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