On Monday, attorneys for Donald Trump informed a New York appellate court that their client is unable to provide a bail equal to the whole sum of his $454 million civil fraud verdict while he files an appeal. "Obtaining an appeal bond in the full amount" of the verdict "is not possible under the circumstances presented," the former president's attorneys said in a court statement.
Trump owes $456.8 million with interest. He owes $467.3 million in total, along with co-defendants that include his business and senior executives. According to Trump's attorneys, they would have to provide $557 million in collateral in order to get a bail.
In order to prevent the decision from going into effect on March 25, a state appeals court judge said last month that Trump would need to post a bond equal to the whole sum.
In February of this year, Judge Arthur Engoron rendered a decision declaring that Trump, his business, and prominent figures—including his sons Eric and Donald Trump Jr.—had been involved in a long-running plot to defraud banks and insurers by falsifying financial statements in order to get loans and close agreements.
The court imposed severe restrictions on Trump's corporate enterprise, the Trump Organization, in addition to other punishments.
A complete panel of the state's intermediate appellate court is what Trump is requesting in order to postpone the verdict pending his appeal. Judge Anil Singh of the appeals court had earlier rejected the $100 million bail that his attorneys had previously suggested. A legal device known as a stay suspends collection while the appeal is pending.
In an affidavit submitted to the court, a real estate broker that Trump hired to help with the bond's acquisition said that not many bonding businesses would contemplate providing a bond of the necessary magnitude.
The remaining bonding organizations "will only accept cash or cash equivalents (such as marketable securities) as collateral," not "hard assets such as real estate."
This kind of relationship is uncommon, if not unheard of. The greatest public firms in the world get this very huge bond, not individuals or privately owned enterprises," the broker, Gary Giulietti, noted.
On February 26, only a few days after the ruling became final, Trump filed an appeal. Engoron's attorneys have requested that the state trial court's Appellate Division rule on whether or not their client "committed errors of law and/or fact," misused his judgment, or "acted in excess" of his authority.
The filing of the appeal did not immediately stop the judgment's execution, nor was it necessary for Trump to pay his fine or post a bail in order to file an appeal.
In the event that Trump is unable to pay the judgment, Democratic Attorney General of New York Letitia James has said that she would look to confiscate some of his assets.
If Trump provided assets, cash, or an appeal bond that covered his debt, the court would automatically grant him a stay of proceedings. He also had the option to request a stay with a smaller bail from the appeals court, which he is now doing.
In addition to buildings and other interests, Trump said during his testimony last year that he had around $400 million in cash. He claims that his net worth is in the billions.
A jury found in January that Trump owed writer E. Jean Carroll $83.3 million for defamation after she accused him in 2019 of molesting her in a 1990s Manhattan department store. Trump just posted a bond while he files an appeal that covers that sum. Carroll also received an additional $5 million from a jury in a separate trial that concluded last year.
Trump owes $456.8 million with interest. He owes $467.3 million in total, along with co-defendants that include his business and senior executives. According to Trump's attorneys, they would have to provide $557 million in collateral in order to get a bail.
In order to prevent the decision from going into effect on March 25, a state appeals court judge said last month that Trump would need to post a bond equal to the whole sum.
In February of this year, Judge Arthur Engoron rendered a decision declaring that Trump, his business, and prominent figures—including his sons Eric and Donald Trump Jr.—had been involved in a long-running plot to defraud banks and insurers by falsifying financial statements in order to get loans and close agreements.
The court imposed severe restrictions on Trump's corporate enterprise, the Trump Organization, in addition to other punishments.
A complete panel of the state's intermediate appellate court is what Trump is requesting in order to postpone the verdict pending his appeal. Judge Anil Singh of the appeals court had earlier rejected the $100 million bail that his attorneys had previously suggested. A legal device known as a stay suspends collection while the appeal is pending.
In an affidavit submitted to the court, a real estate broker that Trump hired to help with the bond's acquisition said that not many bonding businesses would contemplate providing a bond of the necessary magnitude.
The remaining bonding organizations "will only accept cash or cash equivalents (such as marketable securities) as collateral," not "hard assets such as real estate."
This kind of relationship is uncommon, if not unheard of. The greatest public firms in the world get this very huge bond, not individuals or privately owned enterprises," the broker, Gary Giulietti, noted.
On February 26, only a few days after the ruling became final, Trump filed an appeal. Engoron's attorneys have requested that the state trial court's Appellate Division rule on whether or not their client "committed errors of law and/or fact," misused his judgment, or "acted in excess" of his authority.
The filing of the appeal did not immediately stop the judgment's execution, nor was it necessary for Trump to pay his fine or post a bail in order to file an appeal.
In the event that Trump is unable to pay the judgment, Democratic Attorney General of New York Letitia James has said that she would look to confiscate some of his assets.
If Trump provided assets, cash, or an appeal bond that covered his debt, the court would automatically grant him a stay of proceedings. He also had the option to request a stay with a smaller bail from the appeals court, which he is now doing.
In addition to buildings and other interests, Trump said during his testimony last year that he had around $400 million in cash. He claims that his net worth is in the billions.
A jury found in January that Trump owed writer E. Jean Carroll $83.3 million for defamation after she accused him in 2019 of molesting her in a 1990s Manhattan department store. Trump just posted a bond while he files an appeal that covers that sum. Carroll also received an additional $5 million from a jury in a separate trial that concluded last year.
