Donald J. Trump offered to post a $100 million bond in a New York appeals court on Wednesday, suspending a more than $450 million judgment in his civil fraud case, saying he may have to sell some of his assets unless he gets relief.
Mr. is racing the clock to get a bond from a company or produce the entire amount himself. Trump, it's a stunning admission that the evidence is lacking. Without bond, the New York Attorney General's Office, which brought the fraud case, said at no time would Mr. May seek to recover from Trump.
In Filing in Court of Appeals, Mr. Trump's attorneys said the fraud trial judge, Arthur F. Engoron, in a ruling this month, asked for a delay in a wide range of other sentences. This includes a three-year ban on borrowing money from a New York bank and a ban on holding a company in the state for the same period.
An appeals court judge on Wednesday afternoon ruled that Mr. Trump is expected to investigate the request and issue a decision by the end of the day. If the judge grants a stay, it is only temporary; Mr. Trump will have to persuade a larger panel of appeals judges to stay the ruling.
Seeking relief, Mr. Trump's lawyers have revealed that he will not be able to obtain the full $454 million bond, raising the possibility that he could soon miss the verdict if the appeals court denies his request.
Mr. from New York banks. Judge Engoron's decision barring Trump from taking out new loans limits his ability to generate the money himself or have enough cash to collateralize the bond, they argued. Under New York law, a defendant must pay the plaintiff 9 percent interest until a judgment is entered or an appeal is resolved, meaning the entire bond in this case could be $500 million or more.
If the appellate court denies the request, Mr. Trump's lawyers warned that he could sell some of his New York properties in “exigent circumstances” that would punish the former president.
“The excessive and punitive amount of the judgment coupled with an illegal and unconstitutional prohibition on loan transactions renders it impossible to secure and post a complete bond,” the attorneys wrote.
Mr. Trump could eventually get a bigger bond. His stake in his social media company, Trump Media & Technology Group, could be worth as much as $4 billion after a long delay by the end of this year.
Posting a bond which the Court of Appeals accepts, Mr. Attorney General Letitia James will block collection of the judgment until Trump's appeal is resolved. Without bond or suspension from court, Mr. James Mr. Trump's bank accounts could be seized and his New York assets seized. Mr. Ms. James' office asked the appeals court in its own filing to deny Trump's request.
“There is no merit to defendants' argument that a full bond or deposit is unnecessary because they are willing to post partial liability for less than one-quarter of the judgment amount,” the attorney general's office wrote. “All defendants agree that Mr. Trump does not have sufficient liquid assets to satisfy the judgment.”
Ms. James built her case on allegations that Mr. Trump defrauded her net worth by $2 billion. He did so, Mrs. James argued, to get favorable loans and other financial benefits.
Justice Engron sided with Ms. James, concluding that Mr. Trump had defrauded his creditors who had expected him to maintain a certain net worth.
Mr. Trump's net worth is derived largely from real estate, and a civil fraud conviction and writer E. An $83.3 million judgment he faces from a defamation trial involving Jean Carroll also overshadows his cash reserves.
As of last year, Mr. Trump was sitting on more than $350 million in cash, as well as stocks and bonds he could sell in a hurry, according to a recent review of his financial records.
Mr Trump also appears to be struggling to line up a bond in the defamation case. He has until early next month to do so, and his attorneys recently asked a judge to grant him more time or lower his bond.
A bond, in simple terms, is a document that a company provides to the court on behalf of a defendant. In this case Mr. The bond company promises the court it will cover the judgment if Trump, a defendant, loses an appeal and fails to pay.
Alternatively, Mr. Trump must pay the bond company a premium fee, typically 1 to 3 percent of the judgment. Mr. Trump must commit to providing cash, stocks and bonds to the bond company.
Although every contract is different, the companies that issue the appellate bonds Mr. Trump may be reluctant to take on a property as collateral, especially if a building already has a mortgage, experts said.
