Trump unable to raise $464M for his appeal

Former President Donald Trump’s legal team is struggling to find a surety to cover a US$464 million fine imposed during his civil fraud trial.

The 30 underwriters contacted to guarantee the bond, due by the end of the month, have refused to advance the required amount.

NEW: Trump’s legal team says it’s “impossible” to secure a $464 million bond to appeal New York’s fraud case against the former president and his co-defendants, according to a new court filing. https://t.co/AWBwacVol1

— Axios (@axios) March 18, 2024

As a result, Trump’s lawyers told the court that they were unable to secure the bond needed to allow Trump to appeal, despite their best efforts. In an affidavit, Gary Giulietti, Trump’s insurance broker, said that the amount of bail required was almost impossible to obtain. Alan Garten, the Trump Organization’s general counsel, also confirmed these difficulties, calling them insurmountable.

Trump is now struggling with the conditions imposed by the underwriters, and they are insisting that the collateral be in cash rather than real estate, which the Trump Organization finds very worrying. Trump’s real estate cannot be used in this case, further complicating the situation. The ex-president’s lawyers have argued that there is only one option: the forced sale of the real estate, which would result in massive, irrecoverable losses.

The case was initiated by New York Attorney General Letitia Jim and tried by Judge Arthur Engoron, who added interest to the amount. The ruling declared Donald Trump, Donald Jr. and Eric liable for exaggerating Donald Trump’s assets to obtain better loans and insurance for ten years.

A major insurance company that had previously provided more than $90 million in bail for another lawsuit involving Trump, the one in which he sued E. Jean Carroll for defamation, also cannot accept real estate as collateral for bail.

The ex-president’s lawyers are asking an appeals court to reduce the bail amount. The Trump Organization says selling the assets would have an immediate financial impact and cause irreparable damage.

The New York Attorney General’s office opposes the request to reduce bail out of concern that Trump or his co-defendants might try to avoid trial and complicate law enforcement.