Trump Says He Can’t Get Half-billion-dollar Bond To Stave Off Enforcement Of Civil Fraud Judgment

NEW YORK — Donald Trump signaled Wednesday that he does not have the cash to prevent the enforcement of a $450 million judgment for widespread business fraud.

He asked an appeals court to pause the judgment as well as a series of other penalties ordered earlier this month by Justice Arthur Engoron, who found that Trump had inflated the value of his real estate holdings and his own net worth.

Trump’s lawyers offered that Trump could post a $100 million bond — far lower than what would typically be needed to stave off enforcement of the judgment.

Normally, when a defendant appeals a civil judgment, the defendant can prevent collection efforts while the appeal proceeds by either posting the full amount into an escrow fund or by securing a third-party bond to guarantee the full amount.

But Trump’s lawyers said in Wednesday’s filing that the former president would be unable to secure the full amount for an appeal bond, which would come to more than $550 million, given the costs and fees associated with a bond.

If Trump fails to obtain a full bond or post the cash himself, New York Attorney General Tish James, who brought the civil fraud lawsuit against the former president, could begin trying to collect the judgment, perhaps by going after Trump’s bank accounts or properties. Trump is asking the New York appeals court, known as the First Department of the Appellate Division, to issue a stay that would block James from collecting and would pause the other penalties ordered by Engoron.

Engoron issued his $354.8 million verdict against Trump on Feb. 16 after a three-month trial in Manhattan. With interest, the amount Trump owes is over $450 million. Engoron also issued a three-year ban on Trump running a business in New York or obtaining a loan from New York banks.

“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,” Trump’s lawyers wrote.

Associate Justice Anil Singh is expected to make an interim decision on Trump’s request by the end of the day Wednesday, according to the attorney general’s office. After that, a full appellate panel would decide whether to halt the judgment while Trump pursues his appeal.

Trump is separately seeking to postpone any payment on an $83.3 million judgment he owes the writer E. Jean Carroll resulting from a defamation lawsuit. In a court filing last week, Trump asked the judge to allow him to delay payment until after the resolution of post-trial arguments he intends to make and to permit him to post a bond “in an appropriate fraction of the amount of the judgment.”

The amount that Trump owes on the two massive verdicts climbs by tens of thousands of dollars each day, as interest on them accrues.