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Former President Donald Trump’s $175 million bond in his New York civil fraud case may not meet legal requirements for shielding his assets during his appeal, according New York Attorney General Letitia James.
James questioned in a Thursday court filing if the bond from Knight Specialty Insurance Company met New York’s legal requirements. She said the company hadn’t provided a certificate showing it was qualified to provide the bond. The bonding company is headed by California billionaire Don Hankey, a self-proclaimed Trump supporter who made a fortune through high-interest loans to car buyers with bad credit.
James demanded the bonding company or the defendants — which include Trump and his two oldest sons — demonstrate to New York trial judge Arthur Engoron that the company is capable of paying the money. Engoron scheduled a hearing on the issue for April 22.
Trump lawyer Chris Kise didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. Kise told the New York Times that James was making objections to the bond “to stir up some equally baseless public quarrel in a desperate effort to regain relevance.” He called her civil fraud case a “baseless and vindictive political crusade.”
Why does Trump need $175 million bond?
The $175 million bond was a far cry from the $464 million Trump and his co-defendants were originally required to post in order to shield their assets as they appeal Engoron’s judgment against them. A New York appeals bond said they could post just $175 million to block James from collecting assets during the appeal.
Trump is personally liable for nearly the entire judgment — about $454 million — Engoron imposed. Engoron determined that Trump had fraudulently inflated his assets over several years to get better loan and insurance terms, and ordered Trump to cough up the ill-gotten gains plus interest.
The requirement to post a bond or deposit during a legal appeal is meant to ensure the winner in the case can collect on the judgment once the appeal is over.
Before the New York appeals court gave Trump a reprieve by reducing the bond requirement, Trump pleaded that the $464 bond was a “practical impossibility,” stating that 30 bonding companies refused to accept real estate as collateral in exchange for a bond of that size.
