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Donald Trump\u2019s lawyers told a New York appellate court Monday that it\u2019s impossible for him to post a bond covering the full amount of a $454 million civil fraud judgment while he appeals, suggesting the former president\u2019s legal losses have put him in a serious cash crunch.<\/p>\n
Trump\u2019s lawyers wrote in a court filing that \u201cobtaining an appeal bond in the full amount\u201d of the judgment \u201cis not possible under the circumstances presented.\u201d Trump claimed last year that he has \u201cfairly substantially over $400 million in cash,\u201d but back-to-back courtroom defeats have pushed his legal debt north of a half-billion dollars.<\/p>\n
Citing rejections from more than 30 bond underwriters, Trump\u2019s lawyers asked the state\u2019s intermediate appeals court to reverse a prior ruling requiring that he post a bond covering the full amount in order to halt enforcement while he appeals the judgment in New York Attorney General Letitia James\u2019 lawsuit.<\/p>\n
Trump\u2019s financial constraints are being laid bare as he appeals Judge Arthur Engoron\u2019s Feb. 16 ruling that he and his co-defendants schemed for years to deceive banks and insurers by inflating his wealth on financial statements used to secure loans and make deals.<\/p>\n
If the appeals court does not intervene, James can seek to enforce the judgment starting March 25. James, a Democrat, has said she will seek to seize some of Trump\u2019s assets if he is unable to pay.<\/p>\n
With interest, Trump owes the state $456.8 million. That amount is increasing nearly $112,000 each day. In all, he and co-defendants, including his company, sons Eric and Donald Trump Jr. and other executives, owe $467.3 million. To obtain a bond, they would be required to post collateral covering 120% of the judgment, or about $557.5 million, Trump\u2019s lawyers said.<\/p>\n
Trump maintains that he is worth several billion dollars, but much of his wealth is tied up in his skyscrapers, golf courses and other properties. Few underwriters were willing to issue such a large bond and none would accept Trump\u2019s real estate assets as collateral, instead requiring cash or cash equivalents, such as stocks or bonds, his lawyers said.<\/p>\n
Trump\u2019s lawyers said freeing up cash by offloading some of Trump\u2019s properties in a \u201cfire sale\u201d would be impractical because such cut-rate deals would result in massive, irrecoverable losses.<\/p>\n
Not mentioned in Trump\u2019s court filings Monday was the presumptive Republican presidential nominee\u2019s potential financial windfall from a looming deal to put his social media company, Trump Media & Technology Group, on the stock market under the ticker symbol DJT.<\/p>\n
A shareholder meeting is scheduled for Friday. If the deal is approved, Trump would own at least 58% of shares in the company, which runs his Truth Social platform. Depending on share price, that could be worth several billion dollars.<\/p>\n
Trump is asking a full panel of the intermediate appeals court, the Appellate Division of the state\u2019s trial court, to stay the Engoron judgment while he appeals. His lawyers previously proposed a $100 million bond, but Appellate Division Judge Anil C. Singh rejected that after an emergency hearing on Feb. 28. A stay is a legal mechanism pausing collection of a judgment during an appeal.<\/p>\n
In a court filing last week, Senior Assistant Solicitor General Dennis Fan urged the full appellate panel to reject what he dubbed the defense\u2019s \u201ctrust us\u201d argument, contending that without a bond to secure the judgment Trump may attempt to evade enforcement at a later date and force the state to \u201cexpend substantial public resources\u201d to collect the money owed.<\/p>\n
A full bond is necessary, Fan wrote, in part because Trump\u2019s lawyers \u201chave never demonstrated that Mr. Trump\u2019s liquid assets \u2014 which may fluctuate over time \u2014 will be enough to satisfy the full amount of this judgment following appeal.\u201d<\/p>\n
Trump\u2019s lawyers asked the Appellate Division panel to consider oral arguments on its request, and preemptively sought permission to appeal a losing result to the state\u2019s highest court, the Court of Appeals.<\/p>\n
Singh did grant some of Trump\u2019s requests, including pausing a three-year ban on him seeking loans from New York banks. In their court filing Monday, Trump\u2019s lawyers did not address whether they have sought a bank loan to cover the cost of the judgment or obtain cash for use as bond collateral.<\/p>\n
Trump appealed on Feb. 26, a few days after Engoron\u2019s judgment was made official. His lawyers have asked the Appellate Division to decide whether Engoron \u201ccommitted errors of law and\/or fact\u201d and whether he abused his discretion or \u201cacted in excess\u201d of his jurisdiction.<\/p>\n
Trump wasn\u2019t required to pay his penalty or post a bond in order to appeal, and filing the appeal did not automatically halt enforcement of the judgment. Trump would receive an automatic stay if he were to put up money, assets or an appeal bond covering what he owes.<\/p>\n
Gary Giulietti, an insurance broker friend enlisted by Trump to help obtain an appeal bond, wrote in an affidavit Monday: \u201cA bond of this size is rarely, if ever, seen. In the unusual circumstance that a bond of this size is issued, it is provided to the largest public companies in the world, not to individuals or privately held businesses.\u201d<\/p>\n
Giulietti, who acts as an insurance broker for Trump\u2019s company, testified at the civil fraud trial as an expert witness called by Trump\u2019s lawyers. In his ruling, Engoron observed that some of Giulietti\u2019s testimony was contradicted by other witnesses, including a different defense expert. He noted that Giulietti\u2019s company collected $1.2 million in commissions on its Trump accounts in 2022.<\/p>\n
In all, Trump has more than $543 million in personal legal liabilities from three civil court judgments in the past year. Bonding requirements could add at least $100 million to that total.<\/p>\n
In January, a jury ordered Trump to\u00a0pay $83.3 million to writer E. Jean Carroll<\/a>\u00a0for defaming her after she accused him in 2019 of sexually assaulting her in a Manhattan department store in the 1990s. Earlier this month, after his lawyers made similar arguments that he be excused from posting a bond, Trump did secure a $91.6 million bond to cover 110% of the Carroll judgment while he appeals.<\/p>\n Last year, a jury\u00a0ordered Trump to pay Carroll $5 million<\/a>\u00a0in a related trial. In that case, rather than post a bond, Trump put more than $5.5 million in cash in an escrow account while he appeals.<\/p>\n<\/div>\nSubscribe to the new Fortune CEO Weekly Europe newsletter to get corner office insights on the biggest business stories in Europe. Sign up<\/a> for free.<\/div>\n