Former President Donald Trump’s attorneys want an appeals court to delay enforcement of the $464 million judgment against him, his sons, and his company, and allow him to post a $100 million bond instead of the statutorily required full amount.
In a filing with the state Appellate Division Wednesday, Trump’s attorneys said it would be “impossible” for the billionaire to post the full amount given the restrictions in the ruling handed down by Judge Arthur Engoron in the civil fraud case brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James.
“The exorbitant and punitive amount of the Judgment coupled with an unlawful and unconstitutional blanket prohibition on lending transactions would make it impossible to secure and post a complete bond. Appellants nonetheless plan to secure and post a bond in the amount of $100 million,” the filing said.
Without a stay with the lowered bond amount, Trump’s lawyers argue, “properties would likely need to be sold to raise capital under exigent circumstances, and there would be no way to recover any property sold following a successful appeal and no means to recover the resulting financial losses from the Attorney General.”
James’ office quickly opposed the request.
“There is no merit to defendants’ contention that a full bond or deposit is unnecessary because they are willing to post a partial undertaking of less than a quarter of the judgment amount,” Senior Assistant Solicitor General Dennis Fan wrote on behalf of James.
“Defendants all but concede that Mr. Trump has insufficient liquid assets to satisfy the judgment; defendants would need ‘to raise capital’ to do so. These are precisely the circumstances for which a full bond or deposit is necessary,” Fan’s filing said, adding that “there is substantial risk that defendants will attempt to evade enforcement of the judgment (or make enforcement more difficult) following appeal.”
Both sides made their arguments on the issue before Justice Anil C. Singh, and a ruling on the issue could come before the end of the day Wednesday.
The $464 million judgment was officially entered last week, starting the 30-day clock for Trump to post a bond in order to stay any collection efforts by James’s office. The $464 million figure includes the prejudgment interest that accrued on Engoron’s more than $350 million award against Trump and the Trump Organization for having routinely inflated their assets to get bank loans at rates they weren’t entitled to. The interest will continue to grow by over $114,000 a day until it’s paid or Trump wins his appeal.
In their filing Wednesday, Trump’s attorneys contended the award handed down by Engoron should have been closer to $100 million. “Among the Judgment’s myriad errors, more than $350 million of the nearly $465 million awarded in disgorgement is barred by the statute of limitations,” they contended.
The AG’s office said those arguments have already been rejected by the judge, and are likely to be rejected by the appeals court as well.
Trump filed his notice of appeal in the case last week, saying they wanted the court to determine whether Engoron “committed errors of law and/or fact, and whether he abused his discretion and/or acted in excess of his jurisdiction” when he handed down the judgment they called “staggering” in the filing Wednesday.
