Former President Trump was ordered to post $454 million by the end of Monday following his months-long, non-jury civil trial. But what the 2024 GOP presumptive nominee will do remains unclear amid his ongoing appeal to the state.
The deadline for Trump to post the bond, according to New York Attorney Letitia James’ office, is the end of the day on Monday.
Trump, the 2024 presumptive GOP presidential nominee, and his legal team have appealed and requested a stay on his $454 million civil fraud judgment.
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.”
Democrat New York Attorney General Letitia James and former President Trump (Getty Images)
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 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.”
If Trump does not post the bond by the deadline, James is expected to begin taking steps to enforce the judgment.
Could James begin seizing Trump properties?
Trump’s real estate would not automatically be turned over to the state. James, instead, would begin to file liens on his property if Trump doesn’t post the bond. James could attempt to foreclose through the liens, but each party is eligible to object and request the court stay or stop James’ efforts. Seizing or placing liens on Mar-a-Lago and other Trump properties outside of New York would be more challenging for James.
James could also begin freezing Trump’s bank accounts starting Tuesday, having sheriffs or marshal’s offices order Trump’s banks to freeze and turn over his money.
Trump has vowed to fight the case “all the way up to the U.S. Supreme Court if necessary.”
Former President Trump speaks during a Buckeye Values PAC Rally in Vandalia, Ohio, on March 16, 2024. (Kamil Krzaczynski/AFP via Getty Images)
In an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital on Friday, Trump said he can afford to post bond, but is pushing with his legal team to appeal the ruling altogether.
Trump said he has nearly $500 million in cash. His company, Trump Media & Technology Group, the parent company of Truth Social, is set to become public after a merger Monday. The company will trade on the Nasdaq as “DJT.”
Trump owns more than 78 million shares of the stock, valued at nearly $4 billion.
“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.
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.
Trump vows to fight ‘all the way’
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.”
Judge Arthur Engoron presides over the civil fraud trial of the Trump Organization at the New York State Supreme Court in New York City on Nov. 13, 2023. (Erin Schaff/Pool/AFP via Getty Images)
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.”
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.
Engoron ruled that Trump and other defendants were liable for “persistent and repeated fraud,” “falsifying business records,” “issuing false financial statements,” “conspiracy to falsify false financial statements,” “insurance fraud” and “conspiracy to commit insurance fraud.”
The judge also barred Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump from serving as an officer or director of any New York corporation or legal entity in New York for two years.
Engoron also “permanently” barred defendants Allen Weisselberg, the former chief financial officer of the Trump Organization, and former corporate controller Jeffrey McConney from “serving in the financial control function of any New York corporation or similar business entity registered and/or licensed in New York State” and as a director of any New York corporation or other legal entity in New York for three years.
An appeals court overturned Engoron’s ruling to allow Trump and his sons to continue running the family business as they appeal the decision.
New York Attorney General Letitia James sits in the courtroom during the fraud trial of former President Trump and his children on Nov. 3. (Dave Sanders-Pool/Getty Images)
James initially brought the lawsuit accusing Trump and the Trump Organization of fraudulent business practices. The court proceedings were contentious, with Engoron repeatedly placing Trump under a partial gag order to prevent him from criticizing court staff.
Trump dismissed the trial as a “witch hunt” throughout the process, accusing both Engoron and James of serving as political operatives for Democrats. Trump’s legal team also repeatedly blasted the lack of a jury in the trial.
TRUMP BARRED FROM OPERATING BUSINESS, ORDERED TO PAY OVER $350 MILLION IN NY CIVIL FRAUD CASE
“There was never an option to choose a jury trial,” a Trump spokesperson told Fox News Digital. “It is unfortunate that a jury won’t be able to hear how absurd the merits of this case are and conclude no wrongdoing ever happened.”
Trump and his family denied any wrongdoing, with the former president saying his assets had been undervalued. Trump’s legal team insisted that his financial statements had disclaimers, and made it clear to banks that they should conduct their own assessments.
Trump Tower at Fifth Avenue in Midtown Manhattan (Fox News Photo/Joshua Comins)
Throughout the trial, Trump attorneys brought witnesses, including former Deutsche Bank top executives, who testified the banks sought additional business from Trump, whom they viewed as a “whale of a client.”
Trump’s defense also brought in expert witnesses, including New York University accounting professor Eli Bartov, who reviewed the Trump financial statements at issue in the case and said he found no evidence of accounting fraud.
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Bartov testified last month that Trump’s financial statements did not violate accounting principles, and he suggested that anything problematic – like a huge year-to-year leap in the estimated value of his Trump Tower penthouse – was simply an error.
“My main finding is that there is no evidence whatsoever of any accounting fraud,” Bartov testified. Trump’s financial statements, he said, “were not materially misstated.”
Meanwhile, Trump is expected in a New York City courtroom Monday morning for a hearing related to Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s hush money payments case.
The trial was set to begin Monday, March 25, with jury selection, but the judge delayed the trial. It is now expected to begin in mid-April.
FOX Business correspondent Lydia Hu contributed reporting.
