Trump’s attorneys notify appeals court of inability to secure $464M bond for fraud judgment
In a letter sent to New York’s Appellate Division on Thursday, lawyers representing former President Donald Trump are standing firm in their assertion that he cannot obtain a bond for his $464 million civil fraud judgment.
Trump’s attorney, Clifford Robert, referred to New York Attorney General Letitia James’ suggestion on Wednesday that Trump obtain multiple smaller bonds or surrender property to the court as “illogical,” “unconstitutional,” “impractical,” and “unjust.”
“In addition, the Attorney General argues that Defendants should be compelled to dispose of iconic, multi-billion-dollar real estate holdings in a ‘fire sale,'” Robert stated in the letter.
Disputing the notion that Trump could hand over properties to the court, Robert contended that the proposal was impracticable and “functionally equivalent” to the court-appointed monitor for the Trump Organization.
He argued that James’ proposal for Trump to obtain a series of smaller bonds would not resolve Trump’s current predicament, as lenders remain unwilling to provide a bond using both cash and property as collateral.
“As clarified in Defendants’ Affirmations, those separate bonds would still necessitate a total collateralization of cash or cash equivalents exceeding $557 million, regardless of the number of sureties involved,” the letter explained.
Trump faces a Monday deadline to secure a bond or pay the full amount of his $464 million civil fraud judgment. If he fails to meet the deadline, James stated last month that she would seek to have the court seize Trump’s properties.
“It would be entirely illogical — and a clear violation of the Eighth Amendment’s Excessive Fine Clause and a Taking — to require Defendants to sell properties at all, especially in a ‘fire sale,’ in order to be able to challenge the Supreme Court’s unlawful judgment, as this would cause irreparable harm once the Defendants ultimately prevail, which is highly likely, on appeal,” Robert wrote on Thursday.
In February, New York Judge Arthur Engoron ordered Trump to pay $464 million in disgorgement and pre-judgment interest after determining that the former president and his adult sons were liable for engaging in “numerous acts of fraud and misrepresentation” to artificially inflate his net worth for the purpose of obtaining more favorable loan terms. Trump has denied any wrongdoing and has appealed the decision in the case.
Earlier this week, Trump’s legal team argued that he is unable to secure a bond for the judgment due to its size and his need to offer properties as collateral, as he has been turned down by more than 30 insurance companies.
ABCNews Contributed this News.