A few days after she challenged Donald Trump’s bond because she still wanted to seize his assets, the New York attorney general backed down.
Donald Trump’s bond, which was posted just so he can appeal the egregious ruling that he owes nearly half a billion dollars for defrauding no one, will remain set at a level that the president can pay.
The New York Times reported some of the details:
The deal will keep the bond largely unchanged, with the $175 million in cash that Mr. Trump deposited as collateral remaining in a money-market account, while adding new terms stipulating that the $175 million must remain as cash, and not be transferred into mutual funds, for example. The two sides also agreed to give the California firm that provided the bond, Knight Specialty Insurance Company, exclusive control over the money-market account.
The dispute over the bond was overshadowed on Monday by the start of Mr. Trump’s criminal trial in another Lower Manhattan courthouse a few blocks away. And in the end, the argument was resolved without much drama, the latest development in a civil fraud case against Mr. Trump and his family business that resulted in a $454 million judgment imposed on the former president.
The attorney general, Letitia James, accused Mr. Trump in the civil case of fraudulently inflating his net worth. After a monthslong trial last year, the judge in the case, Arthur F. Engoron, agreed and imposed the massive penalty. But subsequently, an appeals court lowered the bond to $175 million while it considered Mr. Trump’s appeal of the ruling.
Knight provided the bond — which is a legal document, not an actual transfer of money — this month, essentially promising New York’s court system that it will cover $175 million of the judgment against Mr. Trump if he loses his appeal and fails to pay. In return, Mr. Trump paid a fee to Knight, and pledged a significant amount of cash as collateral.
In a shocking turn of events, however, the appeal from Letitia James, the New York AG, revealed that she and the Democratic judge who set the massive fine, Arthur Engoron, do not understand the basics of finance.
According to Trump’s lawyer, Alina Habba, the judge did not know what a money market account was:
Alina Habba in the last hour.
This is hilarious.
Judge Engoron doesn't even understand Money Market funds.
Agreement reached on Trump $175 million bond.pic.twitter.com/CJwUR04VNl
— Citizen Free Press (@CitizenFreePres) April 22, 2024
The former president was initially required to pay the entire judgment but successfully appealed to have the amount reduced as he continues his fight against Engoron’s ruling in the case. The ruling has been slammed by critics on the left and right as obvious lawfare against the GOP frontrunner with an intent at helping Biden in his reelection.
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