Lawyers for former President Donald Trump are asking an appeals court to stay the execution of a $464 million judgment against him, his sons and his company and allow him to post a $100 million bond instead of the full amount required by law.
In a filing with the state Appellate Division on Wednesday, Trump’s lawyers said it would be “impossible” for the billionaire to post the full amount, given the limitations set by New York Attorney General Judge Arthur Engoro in the civil fraud case. Letitia James.
“The excessive and punitive amount of the judgment, as well as the illegal and unconstitutional prohibitions on loan transactions, will make it impossible to secure and post the full bond. Appellants nevertheless plan to secure and post the $100 million bond.” applied.
Short of the reduced bond amount, Trump’s lawyers argue that “properties will likely have to be sold in order to raise capital under the circumstances of need, and there will be no way to get back any property sold after a successful appeal, and there will be no way to repay the resulting debt.” Financial losses from the Prosecutor General”.
James’ office quickly disputed the demand.
“Defendants’ contention that a full bond or deposit is unnecessary is without merit because they are willing to post a partial bond of less than one-fourth the amount of the judgment,” Senior Assistant Solicitor General Dennis Fan wrote on behalf of James.
“Defendants acknowledge that Mr. Trump does not have sufficient liquid assets to secure a judgment; defendants will have to ‘raise the capital’ to do so. These are cases where a full bond or deposit is necessary,” Fan’s filing states. added that “there is a great risk that the defendants will try to avoid (or complicate) the execution of the sentence after the appeal.”
Both sides made their arguments on the matter before Justice Anil C. Singh, and a decision on the matter is likely to be handed down by the end of the day on Wednesday.
The $464 million judgment was made official last week, starting a 30-day clock for Trump to post a bond to stop any collection efforts by James’ office. The $464 million figure includes accrued interest on Engoro’s more than $1 million. $350 million prize To Trump and the Trump Organization for regularly inflating their assets to get bank loans at interest rates they are not entitled to. It will continue to grow to more than $114,000 a day until interest is paid or Trump wins his appeal.
In their filing Wednesday, Trump’s attorneys argued that the award from Engoron should be closer to $100 million. “Among the court’s myriad errors, more than $350 million of the approximately $465 million awarded in the liquidation was barred by the statute of limitations,” they said.
Those arguments have already been rejected by a judge and will likely be rejected by an appeals court, the AG’s office said.
Trump filed a notice of appeal in the case last week, saying they are asking the court to determine whether Engoro “made errors of law and/or fact, abused his discretion, and/or acted outside his jurisdiction.” In a presentation on Wednesday, it overturned what it called a “stunning” verdict.