EXCLUSIVE: Former President Trump said he will fight the ruling out of New York Attorney General Letitia James’ case “all the way up to the U.S. Supreme Court if necessary,” telling Fox News Digital that “they can’t take away your property before you’ve had a chance to appeal.”
Trump, the 2024 presumptive GOP presidential nominee, and his legal team have appealed and requested a stay on his $454 million civil fraud judgment. He is required to post that bond by Monday.
In an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital, Trump reflected on the merger of his Trump Media & Technology Group — the parent company of Truth Social — which shareholders voted to make a publicly traded entity Friday. The company is worth nearly $8 billion.
Trump also noted he has nearly $500 million in cash and other properties driving massive amounts of money that he said have very little, if any, debt.
“That doesn’t mean I’m going to give money to a rogue and incompetent judge — the puppet of a corrupt attorney general who’s failing with violent crime and migrant crime and whose only purpose in life is attempting to get Trump,” Trump told Fox News Digital, referring to New York Judge Arthur Engoron and James.
Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump salutes at a campaign rally Saturday, March 16, 2024, in Vandalia, Ohio. (AP/Jeff Dean)
Trump said Engoron “openly and hostilely disrespects the decision of the appellate division, which ruled in my favor.”
“Hopefully they will set the record straight — he has already been overturned four times on this case,” Trump said. “A record.
But Trump vowed to fight the judgment through the court system.
“I’ll fight this all the way up to the U.S. Supreme Court if necessary,” Trump told Fox News Digital. “They can’t take away your property before you’ve had a chance to appeal the decision of a Trump-hating, incompetent judge who has been overturned more than any judge in the state.”
Trump added: “The business community in New York is being devastated by this decision and businesses are fleeing New York — never to return, because they don’t want this to happen to them. In the meantime, violent crime is flourishing.”
Trump’s comments come as a Monday deadline looms to post $454 million. If he does not, James has threatened to begin seizing Trump assets and properties.
Justice Arthur Engoron presides over the civil fraud trial of the Trump Organization at the New York State Supreme Court in New York City on November 13, 2023. (ERIN SCHAFF/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
Engoron’s ruling came after a months-long non-jury trial stemming from James’ years-long investigation. James, when campaigning to become attorney general, vowed to “get Trump.”
“We’re definitely gonna sue him, we’re gonna be a real pain in the a–,” James once told a supporter on video.
TRUTH SOCIAL PARENT COMPANY TRUMP MEDIA & TECHNOLOGY GROUP TO BECOME PUBLICLY TRADED COMPANY
Trump’s comments also come after Truth Social became a publicly-traded entity.
The merger approval means TMTG stock will trade on Nasdaq as “DJT” as early as next week.
Trump holds 78.7 million shares in Trump Media & Technology Group. His personal stake in the company at its current stock price of approximately $44.17 would be worth between $3 billion and $4 billion.
New York Attorney General Letitia James sits in the courtroom during the fraud trial of former President Donald Trump and his children on Friday, Nov. 03. (Dave Sanders-Pool/Getty Images)
There is a six-month lock-up on Trump’s shares, but the board could vote to waive that rule.
Trump lawyers on Monday said that “ongoing diligent efforts have proven that a bond in the judgment’s full amount is a ‘practical impossibility,’” amid attempts to approach about 30 surety companies.
The lawyers said the “enormous magnitude” of the bond requirement, which effectively requires cash reserves approaching $1 billion, is “unprecedented for a private company.”
NEW YORK ATTORNEY GENERAL TAUNTS TRUMP ABOUT INTEREST HE OWES ON CIVIL FRAUD JUDGMENT
James has pushed back, calling Trump’s request for a stay “extraordinary” and “improper.” James has said that Trump should be able to secure the entire value via multiple sureties or offer his real estate holdings as collateral.
But Trump attorney Clifford S. Robert on Thursday sent a letter to the Appellate Division of New York’s Supreme Court, arguing James’ efforts are “unconstitutional.”
