Global Courant
The ruling gives former President Donald Trump, who faced possible seizure of his assets, 10 days to post $175 million in bail.
A US appeals court has agreed to pause the collection of Donald Trump’s $454 million civil fraud judgment, handing a victory to the former US president and stopping authorities in New York from seizing on his possessions.
An appeals court in New York state on Monday granted Trump’s request to delay the payment deadline and reduce the bond he would have to pay while he appeals.
Trump — who faced the immediate seizure of some of his real estate — now has 10 days to post a smaller $175 million bond, rather than paying the full amount.
His legal team had previously argued that a $454 million bail amount was too high and that the former president would not be able to raise the money before Monday’s deadline. New York Attorney General Letitia James had indicated she was prepared to seize Trump’s assets if he missed the cutoff date.
The revised bond amount and deadline come after Trump was found liable last month for overestimating his ability to deceive investors and lenders.
After the court ruling, the ex-president said in a post on his Truth Social platform
his legal team “will abide by the decision… and post a bond, equivalent securities or cash.”
James’ office said Trump “continues to be held accountable for his staggering fraud.”
New York Attorney General Letitia James filed the civil case against Trump in 2022 (File: Mike Segar/Reuters)
Trump is the Republican Party’s presumptive nominee for the 2024 US presidential election, but he faces numerous legal challenges – both civil and criminal – that are leading to rising legal costs.
Monday’s decision is expected to help ease his cash crunch. Last week, Trump’s lawyers wrote in a court filing that “obtaining bail for the full amount” of the verdict “is not possible under the circumstances presented” because obtaining bail for such a large sum of money “is a practical impossibility”. .
Trump has denied wrongdoing in the case and has accused authorities of waging a politically motivated witch hunt aimed at derailing his re-election campaign.
On Monday morning, he used Truth Social to rail against those involved, including James, the attorney general who filed the civil lawsuit in 2022.
Trump accused them of trying to “take away and sell highly successful properties and assets that have taken me years to zone, build and nurture the best of their kind anywhere in the world – while doing nothing wrong done! ”
Last month, Trump was found liable for fraudulently inflating his wealth by billions of dollars to secure better loan and insurance terms. In his ruling, Judge Arthur Engoron said Trump had committed fraud by overvaluing his properties, including his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, his penthouse apartment in Manhattan’s Trump Tower and several office buildings and golf courses.
It was the culmination of a three-month non-jury trial in Manhattan. The lawsuit mainly focused on how much Trump would have to pay in fines.
Judge Engoron ultimately ordered Trump to pay $355 million, plus interest, for a total of nearly $454 million.
Normally, under New York state law, a litigant can pause the collection of a fine by posting the full amount in a bond while he or she appeals.
In addition to the civil fraud case, Trump also faces four separate criminal charges. These include his efforts to overturn the 2020 election results, allegations that he mishandled classified government documents and an alleged hush-money payment during the 2016 race.
He has pleaded not guilty in all four cases. A trial date in the hush money case was set Monday for April 15.
