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New York Attorney General Letitia James said Donald Trump's statement that he cannot obtain the more than $460 million required to post bond and appeal the civil fraud decision against him in the New York real estate case.
A lawyer for AG James argued in a legal filing on Wednesday that the court ought to reject Trump's "extraordinary request" to appeal without posting the entire sum. The former president called the bond "practically impossible" to pay.
"There is nothing unusual about even billion-dollar judgments being fully bonded on appeal," wrote senior assistant solicitor general Dennis Fan.
"Defendants object to a possible 'fire sale' if they were to sell assets to generate cash to use as collateral for a bond or as a deposit —but the alternative would be to shift the risk of executing on defendants' illiquid assets to OAG," said Fan, according to ABC News.
Amid rejections from more than thirty insurance companies, Trump's attorneys contended earlier this week that the judgment's magnitude and Trump's requirement to post properties as collateral prevent the former president from being able to obtain a bond for it.
The Attorney General claimed in the filing that the former president has not proven he made an attempt to obtain a bond with assets serving as security, implying that Trump is to blame for the problem because his "holdings are not nearly as valuable as defendants claim."
"Defendants supply no documentary evidence that demonstrates precisely what real property they offered to sureties, on what terms that property was offered, or precisely why the sureties were unwilling to accept the assets," the filing stated. "As far as the Court can infer, sureties may have refused to accept defendants' specific holdings as collateral because using Mr. Trump's real estate will generally need 'a property appraisal' ... and his holdings are not nearly as valuable as defendants claim."
James stated that in the event that Trump is unable to obtain a single bond for the $464 million judgment, the former president may try to obtain several smaller bonds, "$100 or $200 million apiece," or he may agree to have the Supreme Court seize his real estate holdings in order to satisfy the verdict.
"The use of real estate as collateral for an appeal bond is hardly impossible as a general matter," the filing said.
Trump's attorney Chris Kise slammed the AG's filing as a "brazen abuse of power."
"The Attorney General's latest filing demonstrates her continued willingness to misrepresent the facts and misconstrue applicable law in her political crusade against President Trump. Today's missive does not even bother to cite New York case law," said Kise.
"The Attorney General also includes a baseless, malicious, and defamatory assault on an individual who had no role in any of the transactions or matters at issue. This brazen abuse of power will continue until some judicial officer musters the courage to say 'enough.' Until then, the damage to the New York business community and to the rule of law is irretrievable," he added.
In February, New York Judge Arthur Engoron found Trump guilty of allegedly exaggerating his real estate assets, thus inflating his fortune, and ordered Trump to pay $464 million in disgorgement and interest. A three-year ban on Trump's ability to run any New York-based corporation was also imposed. Additionally, his sons Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr. each received a $4 million fine and a two-year ban.
No banks which loaned money to Trump suffered any damages and the AP admitted that the case stands alone in 70 years of case law with one real estate lawyer who spoke to the outlet saying that it "sets a horrible precedent."
A lawyer for AG James argued in a legal filing on Wednesday that the court ought to reject Trump's "extraordinary request" to appeal without posting the entire sum. The former president called the bond "practically impossible" to pay.
"There is nothing unusual about even billion-dollar judgments being fully bonded on appeal," wrote senior assistant solicitor general Dennis Fan.
"Defendants object to a possible 'fire sale' if they were to sell assets to generate cash to use as collateral for a bond or as a deposit —but the alternative would be to shift the risk of executing on defendants' illiquid assets to OAG," said Fan, according to ABC News.
Amid rejections from more than thirty insurance companies, Trump's attorneys contended earlier this week that the judgment's magnitude and Trump's requirement to post properties as collateral prevent the former president from being able to obtain a bond for it.
The Attorney General claimed in the filing that the former president has not proven he made an attempt to obtain a bond with assets serving as security, implying that Trump is to blame for the problem because his "holdings are not nearly as valuable as defendants claim."
"Defendants supply no documentary evidence that demonstrates precisely what real property they offered to sureties, on what terms that property was offered, or precisely why the sureties were unwilling to accept the assets," the filing stated. "As far as the Court can infer, sureties may have refused to accept defendants' specific holdings as collateral because using Mr. Trump's real estate will generally need 'a property appraisal' ... and his holdings are not nearly as valuable as defendants claim."
James stated that in the event that Trump is unable to obtain a single bond for the $464 million judgment, the former president may try to obtain several smaller bonds, "$100 or $200 million apiece," or he may agree to have the Supreme Court seize his real estate holdings in order to satisfy the verdict.
"The use of real estate as collateral for an appeal bond is hardly impossible as a general matter," the filing said.
Trump's attorney Chris Kise slammed the AG's filing as a "brazen abuse of power."
"The Attorney General's latest filing demonstrates her continued willingness to misrepresent the facts and misconstrue applicable law in her political crusade against President Trump. Today's missive does not even bother to cite New York case law," said Kise.
"The Attorney General also includes a baseless, malicious, and defamatory assault on an individual who had no role in any of the transactions or matters at issue. This brazen abuse of power will continue until some judicial officer musters the courage to say 'enough.' Until then, the damage to the New York business community and to the rule of law is irretrievable," he added.
In February, New York Judge Arthur Engoron found Trump guilty of allegedly exaggerating his real estate assets, thus inflating his fortune, and ordered Trump to pay $464 million in disgorgement and interest. A three-year ban on Trump's ability to run any New York-based corporation was also imposed. Additionally, his sons Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr. each received a $4 million fine and a two-year ban.
No banks which loaned money to Trump suffered any damages and the AP admitted that the case stands alone in 70 years of case law with one real estate lawyer who spoke to the outlet saying that it "sets a horrible precedent."
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