Court slashes Trump’s $ 454m bond to $ 174m

DONALD Trump got a major legal lifeline yesterday when a New York appeals court agreed to slash the bond in his New York fraud case from $ 454 million to $ 174 million.

The ex- president now has 10 days to cover the amount in an incredible reprieve just hours before a deadline where, if missed, his bank accounts would have been frozen and buildings seized. The development, just the latest instance of Trump pulling a legal rabbit out of a hat, came just before New York

Attorney General Letitia James was expected to initiate efforts to collect the judgment.

She has threatened to seize Trump properties, which the former president on Monday called his ' babies.'

In remarks immediately after the decision Trump called Judge Arthur Engoron a ' disgrace' and said ' this should not be allowed to happen.'

He said the judge had ' done a terrible disservice' to the state of New York.

“I greatly respect the decision of the Apellate Division and will post either $ 175 million of cash or bonds or security or whatever is necessary very quickly within the 10 days,” he said.

James released a statement. “Donald Trump is still facing accountability for his staggering fraud. The court has already found that he engaged in years of fraud to falsely inflate his net worth and unjustly enrich himself, his family, and his organization. The $ 464 million judgment – plus interest – against Donald Trump and the other defendants still stands,” she said.

Earlier this week, Trump's lawyers pleaded for a state appeals court to halt collection, claiming it was ' a practical impossibility' to get an underwriter to sign off on a bond for such a large sum. The ruling was issued by the state's intermediate appeals court, the Appellate Division of the state ´ s trial court, where Trump is fighting to overturn a judge's Feb. 16 finding that he lied about his wealth as he grew the real estate empire that launched him to stardom.