Trump posts $175M bond to shield assets

Judge in hush money case expands gag order

By: Aysha Bagchi
USA Today

..... Former President Donald Trump and several co-defendants in a New York civil fraud case posted a $175 million bond Monday [04/01/2024] after an appeals court ruled they didn't have to come up with $454 million in order to block New York Attorney General Letitia James from seizing their assets.
..... Judge Arthur F. Engoron imposed the approximately $454 million judgment, which includes interest, after concluding Trump got better loan and insurance terms by fraudulently inflating the value of his assets over several years. Trump's eons Eric and Don Jr. also faces judgments totaling more than $9 million, and former trump Organization executive Allen Weisselberg was ordered to pay over 41 million.
..... Assistance arrived just in time for t4eh former president: On March 25 [2024] deadline to come up with a deposit or bond to stave off James, a New York appeals court ruled he and his co-defendants could have an additional 10 days to spot just $175 million to shield themselves from collection. The shield lasts until Trump's appeal runs out.
..... The bond was provided by Knight Specialty Insurance Company, which has its principal pace of business in Los Angeles but meets New York's requirements to guarantee the bond is paid, according to a Monday [04/01/2024] court filing.
..... The help came after Trump, the business entities, and the two sons told a New York appeals court on March 18 [2024] that getting a $464 million bod to cover their judgments was "a practical impossibility." They said in a filing that they went to 30 bonding companies, and not one would cover a bond that size without collateral in the from of cash or cash equivalents.
..... "Obtain such cash through a 'fire sale' of real estate holdings would inevitably result in massive, irrecoverable losses," they told the appeals court. They pleaded for an order blocking James form collecting during their appeal without having to post a bond.
..... Also on Monday, [04/01/2024] in a separate New York court case, Trump was hit with a wider gag order after repeatedly targeting the judge's daughter in social media posts. in that case, Trump faces 34 felony counts of falsifying business records to cover up a hush money payment made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels before the 2016 presidential election. The trial is set to begin April 15 [2024] with jury selection.
..... The late Monday [04/01/2024] order from Judge Juan Merchan blocks Trump from making public statements about family members of the judge or Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg if the statements are meant to significantly interfere with work in the case. Merchan previously issued a similar gag order when it can to statements about court staff, other prosecutors and their families.
..... Trump's posts over the past week attacked the judge's daughter, Loren Merchan, as "a Rabid Trump Hater," and referred to her role leading a marketing agency that works with Democratic candidates and nonprofits. They also included photograph of her.
..... The New York State Advisory Committee on Judicial Ethics determined last May [2023] that the judge's impartiality could not reasonably be questioned based on his daughter's work., stating that the case doesn't involve her business "directly or indirectly."
..... In expanding his earlier gag order, Merchan said Trump's attacks on a family member of a judge or prosecutor amounts to "a direct attack on the Rule of Law itself." Mercahan also warned Trump that any legal right he has to access juror names would be forfeited "if he engages in any conduct that threatens the safety and integrity of the jury or the jury selection process."

HOME