A New York appeals court authorized former U.S. President Donald Trump to post a lower bond than initially set in a civil fraud case.
The former president must now post a $175 million bond within 10 days (instead of $464 million) while his appeal of the ruling requiring him to pay $454 million is resolved.
This is a significant lifeline for the former president, who, along with some of his children and his company, was fined after Judge Arthur Engoron found that Trump and the other defendants fraudulently inflated the value of their assets.
For weeks, Donald Trump has tried to avoid paying this amount, and according to statements last week from the Republican presidential candidate’s lawyers, Trump had been unable to gather enough funds to post the bond.
Additionally, Trump has asked an appeals court panel to stay the penalty while he continues to challenge it, but the court has not yet ruled on the request.
Today, once again, Trump claimed the case is a Democratic witch hunt.
“I did nothing wrong, and New York should never be in this position again. Businesses are fleeing (the city). Violent crime is surging, and it’s very important that this be fully resolved as soon as possible,” he said.
Today’s ruling temporarily prevents New York Attorney General Letitia James from attempting to seize the former president’s property to enforce the judgment against him, which would have carried high symbolic weight.
“Donald Trump still faces accountability for his staggering fraud. The court has already determined that he engaged in years of fraud to falsely inflate his net worth and unjustly enrich himself, his family, and his organization. The $464 million judgment—plus interest—against Donald Trump and the other defendants remains in place,” James said in a statement today.
The former president’s net worth has been estimated at $3 billion, but much of it is tied up in real estate.
Trump traveled to New York to attend another hearing in a separate case involving 34 felony charges related to irregular payments to a porn actress in 2016, a trial originally scheduled for March 25 that now needs to be rescheduled.
Image: Opinion
