Donald Trump currently has 10 days to post $175 million bail to suspend collection on a civil fraud judgment of more than $454 million.
The former president scored a last-minute legal victory when an appeals court on Monday significantly reduced the amount of bail he had to pay. This temporarily prevents New York Attorney General Letitia James from pursuing President Trump’s valuable assets.
The ruling, handed down by a five-judge panel in the New York City First Department Appellate Division, effectively gives President Trump a 10-day extension to pay his bail, allowing him to appeal the decision. Bail must be posted.
Here’s what happens next:
Why was bail reduced to $175 million, and will Trump post it?
At a press conference Monday afternoon, President Trump insisted he had enough cash to cover the bonds and said he would post them.
“I have more cash than that, but I also want to use some of it to get elected,” the would-be Republican presidential nominee told reporters.
Trump’s lawyers have asked the First Department to significantly reduce his bail or waive it entirely, citing impossible obstacles to attracting supporters.
Jerry Goldfeder, a Fordham Law School professor and senior counsel at Cozen O’Connor, told the Post that the Department wanted to give the former commander-in-chief an opportunity to exercise his right to appeal. He said he is doing so.
“The court appears to have accepted Mr. Trump’s excuse that it could not withhold the entire amount and wanted to give him an opportunity to post bail so that the appeal would not become an academic exercise,” Goldfeder said. did.
What if Trump issues a bond?
Once the bond is in the court’s hands, many other elements of the Feb. 16 ruling by Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron will be put on hold.
This includes various bans on Trump, his two eldest sons Eric Trump Jr. and Donald Trump Jr., and other Trump Organization executives from running any New York company for two to three years. Some of the judgments are included.
Another factor in Mr. Engoron’s decision that suspends bond issuance is the rule that Mr. Engoron and his real estate empire cannot obtain any loans within the Empire State.
But the appeals court said Engoron’s portion of the ruling expanding the role of independent monitors’ authority to monitor the Trump Organization’s dealings will remain in place.
The company will also still be required to employ a compliance officer who will report to the monitor.
When will President Trump actually file an appeal and will we get a decision before Election Day?
President Trump must submit all appeal documents to the First Department by a September oral argument date in intermediate state court.
Delays caused by Trump’s appeals mean a final decision is unlikely to be made before the 2024 presidential election on November 6th.
Mr. Trump is seeking to overturn two major judgments from Engoron, the first of which was issued before trial, in which Mr. Trump was found responsible and his business license in New York was revoked.
Follow the Post’s report that former President Donald Trump is seeking a loan to pay off $175 million in bonds.
The second ruling was issued after a trial, and imposed huge monetary sanctions on President Trump.
During a three-month trial last year, Mr. James’s office argued that Mr. Trump overstated his net worth by billions of dollars a year in his financial statements to obtain better loan and insurance terms.
President Trump has strongly denied the allegations and repeatedly sought to portray the incident as a politically motivated “witch hunt” carried out by a cabal of Democrats spearheaded by President Biden.
What happens if Trump loses his appeal?
If Trump ultimately loses his appeal, he will likely be required to pay the full amount of the judgment plus $120,000 in interest per day.
Mr. James said he would not hesitate to go after the iconic Manhattan property if Mr. Trump can’t come up with the money.
Goldfeder, the Fordham professor, cautioned against reading too much into the First Department’s bond cuts, noting that it doesn’t necessarily mean the courts will ultimately rule in Trump’s favor on appeal.
“It just means the Court of Appeals is giving him an opportunity to appeal,” he said.
