The Press and Journal (Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire)
Trump can’t find £356m bond
Donald Trump’s lawyers told a New York appeal court yesterday that it is impossible for him to post a bond covering the full amount of his $454 million (£356 million) civil fraud judgment while he appeals.
The former president’s lawyers wrote in a court filing that “obtaining an appeal bond in the full amount” of the judgment “is not possible under the circumstances presented”.
With interest, Mr Trump owes $456.8m (£358.9m). In all, he and co-defendants including his company and top executives owe $467.3m (£367.19m). To obtain a bond, they would be required to post collateral worth $557m (£437.67m), Mr Trump’s lawyers said.
A state appeals court judge ruled last month that Mr Trump must post a bond covering the full amount to pause enforcement of the judgment, which is to begin on March 25.
Judge Arthur Engoron ruled in February that Mr Trump, his company and top executives, including his sons Eric and Donald Trump Jr, schemed for years to deceive banks and insurers by inflating his wealth on financial statements used to secure loans and make deals.
Among other penalties, the judge put strict limitations on the ability of Mr Trump’s company, the Trump Organisation, to do business.
Mr Trump is asking a full panel of the state’s intermediate appellate court to stay the judgment while he appeals.
His lawyers previously proposed posting a $100m bond (£78.6m), but appeals court judge Anil Singh rejected that. A stay is a legal mechanism pausing collection while he appeals.
A real estate broker enlisted by Mr Trump to assist in obtaining a bond wrote in an affidavit filed with the court that few bonding companies will consider issuing a bond of the size required.
The remaining bonding companies will not “accept hard assets such as real estate as collateral,” but “will only accept cash or cash equivalents (such as marketable securities)”.
“A 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,” the broker, Gary Giulietti, wrote.