Former US president Donald Trump has offered a bond that would cover just $100 million of the more than $355 million penalty ordered by the judge in his civil fraud case, a court filing showed Wednesday. The move raises the prospect that Trump, who built a public profile as a property developer and businessman in New York before entering politics, could have to sell flagship properties to cover the shattering penalty if his ongoing appeal fails.
Trump was required to organize a bond as he challenges the February 16 court ruling that found he manipulated the values of his properties to secure more favorable rates for loans and insurance. The bond is a guarantee that he would pay any penalty upheld in the event that his appeal fails, and would typically be underwritten by an insurer or specialized bond company. Trump — almost certain to be the Republican presidential nominee this November — was also banned from running businesses in New York state for three years and precluded from applying for loans from institutions based there.
Instead of coming up with a guarantee for the full amount of $355 million — plus considerable interest — Trump’s lawyers applied to the Appellate Division of the New York Supreme Court to “post a bond in the amount of $100 million.” The submission said that Trump’s “vast” real estate holdings “would alone be sufficient to adequately secure any judgment affirmed.” “(The) bond would simply serve as further security.” Trump’s lawyers went on to attack judge Arthur Engoron’s original scathing judgment against him as “exorbitant and punitive.” Engoron’s “unlawful and unconstitutional blanket prohibition on lending transactions would make it impossible to secure and post a complete bond,” they said.
Trump, facing 91 criminal counts in other cases, has seized on his legal woes to fire up supporters and denounce his likely opponent President Joe Biden, claiming that court cases are “just a way of hurting me in the election.” Trump repeatedly attacked Engoron during the case, calling him “out of control.”
© 2024 AFP
