Trump Can Post $175M Bond, Court Rules, Sparing Him From Immediate Asset Seizures
A New York appeals court has allowed former President Donald Trump to post a greatly reduced bond to appeal a historic civil fraud judgment against him.
A five-judge appeals court panel ruled Monday morning that Trump can post a bond for $175M of the ordered $464.5M judgment, which he must do within 10 days.
Monday was the deadline for Trump and his companies to pay the $355M judgment, plus more than $100M in interest, or post a bond for that amount while he appeals the ruling.
Trump said he would "abide by the decision" in a statement reported by The New York Times.
His attorneys, in requesting a smaller or delayed bond last week, said coming up with the required funds was “impossible under the circumstances” to secure.
The former president had been rejected by dozens of insurers who refuse to accept The Trump Organization’s real estate as collateral, his lawyers wrote, adding that a fire sale of the properties would result in “massive, irrecoverable losses.”
Trump posted on his social media network, Truth Social, late last week that he had almost $500M in cash, appearing to undercut his attorneys' argument. The New York Times estimated last year he could have up to $350M in cash or liquid assets.
New York Attorney General Letitia James, whose investigation netted the fraud judgment, has said she would look to seize his properties, including the tower at 40 Wall St., to secure the judgment.
But experts have also said, given the nature of the case, that process might be long and difficult because of the complex ownership structures of the properties — Trump owns the ground lease at 40 Wall, not the land — and difficulties with pinpointing the values of the assets in order to sell them.
A representative for The Trump Organization did not immediately respond to Bisnow’s request for comment.
In addition to slashing the bond amount, the appeals court approved a stay on other conditions previously set by Judge Arthur Engoron, including his ruling that Trump be banned from securing a loan from any bank registered in New York and also banned from serving as a corporate director in the state for three years. The two-year director ban on Trump's eldest sons was also stayed on appeal.
The Trump Organization will have to continue to open its books to and get approval for major transactions from retired federal judge Barbara Jones, who has been imposed a monitor as part of the judgment, the court found.
