Former President Donald Trump posted the $175 million bond for his New York civil fraud case on Monday, one week after an appeals court reduced the payment from the original $464 million penalty. With the bond payment filed “as promised,” the former president is now no longer at risk of having his assets and real estate holdings seized during the process of appealing the judgment against him.
As Valuetainment previously reported, the appellate court decision last week dramatically lowered the bond payment after Trump’s attorneys argued that paying the $464 million fine imposed by Judge Arthur Engoron’s January ruling was “a practical impossibility.” In order to cover the initial amount—a $363 million disgorgement with a 9 percent backdated interest—Trump would have been required to put up almost $550 million as collateral to a bond company. The former president would have had to make this payment in cash, as most bond assurers will not accept real estate as collateral.
The court decision reducing the payment also granted Trump a 10-day extension to come up with the money before New York Attorney General Letitia James began seizing his assets to cover the penalty.
Learn the benefits of becoming a Valuetainment Member and subscribe today!
“As promised, President Trump has posted bond,” attorney Alina Habba said in a statement. “He looks forward to vindicating his rights on appeal and overturning this unjust verdict.”
“I’ve just posted a 175 Million Dollar Bond with the sadly failing and very troubled State of New York, based on a Corrupt Judge and Attorney General who used a Statute that was never used for this before, where no Jury was allowed, my financial statements were conservative and had a 100 percent perfect caution/non-reliance clause, there were no victims (except me!), there was no crime or damage, there was only success and HAPPY BANKS,” former President Trump continued in a Truth Social post.
Trump and his legal team will now continue the process of appealing Engoron’s ruling, which found the former president guilty of overinflating his net worth and misleading investors. The $175 million bond will serve as a guarantee of payment if the judgment is upheld. If Trump loses the appeals process, he will be required to pay the full $464 million, as well as additional interest that accrues by the day. If he wins, he will not owe the state anything, and the money he has already put up will be returned.
Related: Jon Stewart Mocks Donald Trump’s Civil Fraud Penalty, Oversold His Own NY Property by 829%
On the same day Trump posted the bond, the judge overseeing Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s “hush money” case against him expanded an existing gag order preventing the former president from discussing certain aspects of the case.
Under the expanded order, while Trump stands trial for alleged payments made to porn star Stormy Daniels before the 2016 election, he cannot make comments about family members of the court, the family members of DA Bragg, and all others named in the order, including jurors, potential jurors, witnesses, court staff, counsel, and their families.
“This pattern of attacking family members of presiding jurists and attorneys assigned to his cases serves no legitimate purpose,” New York Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan wrote in his 5-page ruling. “It merely injects fear in those assigned or called to participate in the proceedings that not only they, but their family members as well, are ‘fair game,’ for Defendant’s vitriol.”
Connor Walcott is a staff writer for Valuetainment.com. Follow Connor on X and look for him on VT’s “The Unusual Suspects.”
Add comment