Trump’s $175 Million Fraud Bond Survives
After New York AG Strikes Deal
Trump posted bond for $175 million in the fraud
case earlier in April, after an appeals court said he didn’t have to
immediately put up the full $464.2 million he and his co-defendants had been
ordered to pay for fraud. The attorney general’s office, which brought the
fraud lawsuit, raised objections to the bond in court, claiming the company
Trump used to secure it—Knight Specialty Insurance Company—didn’t prove it
could actually cover the full bond if Trump didn’t pay.
Records also showed that Trump’s lawyers gave
Knight access to an account with $175 million in cash in it, but did not give
them full control of it—which, the state argued, meant Trump could simply
withdraw some of the money if he wanted to or replace it with investments that
could make the account worth less than $175 million when it came time for Trump
to pay. Judge Arthur Engoron held a hearing on the issue Monday, where the
state and Trump’s team reached an agreement that requires Knight to have full
control over the account and ensures it stays entirely in cash, according to
the attorney general’s office. The agreement also requires Trump and Knight to
report monthly account statements to the court and attorney general’s office.
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Trump is appealing the fraud case, and it’s
unclear how long that will take to play out. Though Trump only had to put up
$175 million in cash now, he’ll have to pay the full judgment against him if he
loses the case on appeal. Trump has been personally ordered to pay more than
$454 million of the $464 million total judgment in the case; much smaller fines
were also levied against his two sons and former CFO Allen Weisselberg. That
$454 million is expected to be substantially larger by the time the appeals
process is complete, however, as interest accrues on Trump’s payment at a rate
of more than $111,000 per day.
Trump
spoke out against New York Attorney General Letitia James and her challenge of
his bond as he entered the courtroom for his separate criminal trial on Monday,
telling reporters that she “shouldn’t be complaining” about the bond given that
Trump put up cash. “Why would she be doing [opposing the bond] when I’ve put up
the money,” Trump asked, adding that he has “plenty of money to put up.”
