Court agrees to block collection of Trump’s $454 million civil fraud judgment if he puts up $175M
NEW YORK (AP) — A New York appeals court on Monday agreed to hold off collection of former President Donald Trump’s $454 million civil fraud judgment — if he puts up $175 million within 10 days.
If he does, it will stop the clock on collection and prevent the state from seizing the presumptive Republican presidential nominee’s assets while he appeals.
The development came just before New York Attorney General Letitia James was expected to initiate efforts to collect the judgment. Messages seeking comment were sent to James’ office and to Trump’s lawyers.
Trump’s lawyers had 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 and the presidency.
After James won the judgment, she didn’t seek to enforce it during a legal timeout for Trump to ask the appeals court for a reprieve from paying up.
That period ended Monday, though James could have decided to allow Trump more time.
James, a Democrat, told ABC News last month that if Trump doesn’t have the money to pay, she would seek to seize his assets and was “prepared to make sure that the judgment is paid.”
She didn’t detail the process or specify what holdings she meant, and her office has declined more recently to discuss its plans. Meanwhile, it has filed notice of the judgment, a technical step toward potentially moving to collect. As Trump arrived Monday at a different New York court for a separate hearing in his criminal hush money case, he didn’t respond to a journalist’s question about whether he’d obtained a bond. Earlier Monday, he railed in social media posts against the civil judgment and the possibility that James would seek to enforce it.
Casting the case as a plot by Democrats, the ex-president asserted that they were trying to take his cash to starve his 2024 campaign.
“I had intended to use much of that hard earned money on running for President. They don’t want me to do that — ELECTION INTERFERENCE!” he wrote on his Truth Social platform. Referring to his properties as “my ‘babies,’” he bristled at the idea of being forced to sell them or seeing them seized. Seizing assets is a common legal option when someone doesn’t have the cash to pay a civil court penalty. In Trump’s case, potential targets could include such properties as his Trump Tower penthouse, aircraft, Wall Street office building or golf courses.
The attorney general also could go after his bank and investment accounts. Trump maintained on social media on Friday that he has almost $500 million in cash but intends to use much of it on his presidential run. He has accused James and New York state Judge Arthur Engoron, who’s also a Democrat, of seeking “to take the cash away so I can’t use it on the campaign.”
Poland demands explanation from Russia after a missile enters its airspace during attack on Ukraine KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Poland to target the Ukrainian has demanded an explanation capital. The head of Kyiv’s military from Russia after one of its administration said that missiles strayed briefly into Russia used cruise missiles Polish airspace during a major launched from Tu-95MS strategic missile attack on Ukraine. The bombers. It wasn’t immediately incident on Sunday prompted clear if Russia intended the NATO member to activate for a missile to enter Poland’s F-16 fighter jets. It was airspace. Cruise missiles are Russia’s third big missile able to change their trajectory attack on Ukraine in the past to evade air defense systems. four days. And it was the second