March 18, 2024

According to a new filing from Trump's lawyers, it appears he's unable to come up with the $464 million in order to appeal his civil fraud case in New York. He was trying to get the amount reduced last month. Now they're trying to delay posting bond until the appeal is over:

Former President Donald Trump can’t find an insurance company to underwrite his bond to cover the massive judgment against him in the New York attorney general’s civil fraud case, his lawyers told a New York appeals court.

Trump’s attorneys said he has approached 30 underwriters to back the bond, which is due by the end of this month.

“The amount of the judgment, with interest, exceeds $464 million, and very few bonding companies will consider a bond of anything approaching that magnitude,” Trump’s lawyers wrote. (Trump himself was ordered to pay $454 million; the $464 million includes the disgorgement for his adult sons Don Jr. and Eric.)

An insurance broker, Gary Giulietti, who testified for Trump during the civil fraud trial, signed an affidavit stating that securing a bond in the full amount “is a practical impossibility.”

Potential underwriters are seeking cash to back the bond, not properties, according to Trump’s lawyers.

Trump’s lawyers have asked the appeals court to delay posting the bond until his appeal of the case is over, arguing that the value of Trump’s properties far exceed the judgment. If the appeals court rules against him, Trump asked the court to delay his posting the bond until his appeal to New York’s highest court is heard.

Rep. Sean Casten posted on Xitter this reminder on the national security risk Trump poses and what Congress ought to be doing about it:

UPDATE: And just as a reminder, here's his TV lawyer Alina Habba back in February.

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