MANHATTAN (CN) — Donald Trump will only have to post a $175 million bond to stay the enforcement of his $464 million civil fraud judgment, according to a Monday order from a New York appellate court.
Trump was initially expected to have to post at least the full value of the nearly half-a-billion-dollar judgment, with a deadline of Monday. But the last-minute order now gives Trump 10 extra days to post the reduced sum, buying him some much-needed time to keep New York Attorney General Letitia James from potentially seizing his assets.
James had reportedly been preparing to start taking over some of Trump’s New York properties after the former president expressed an inability to get a big enough bond to secure the judgment.
“A bond requirement of this enormous magnitude — effectively requiring cash reserves approaching $1 billion — is unprecedented for a private company,” Trump claimed in a court filing last week, adding that he’d spent “countless hours negotiating with one of the largest insurance companies in the world,” to no avail.
Assuming he can put up the $175 million, Trump’s assets should now be safe from seizure while he appeals. He told reporters on Monday that he plans to post the new bond amount “very quickly.”
In the same breath, he jabbed at New York Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron — the judge who issued the civil fraud ruling in February.
“I thank the appellate division for acting quickly, but Judge Engoron is a disgrace to this country and this should not be allowed to happen.”
Trump clarified that he’ll post “whatever is necessary, whether it be cash or security or bonds.” On Friday, he claimed on social media to have “almost five hundred million dollars in cash.”
In Monday’s order, the five-judge appeals panel also stayed the enforcement of other aspects of the massive judgment, including the three-year bans on Trump both serving as an executive of his namesake company and from taking out loans from state banks. The oversight and compliance elements of the judgment will continue to be enforced, however.
“The motion is otherwise denied, including to the extent it seeks a stay of enforcement of portions of the judgment extending and enhancing the role of the monitor and directing the installation of an independent director of compliance,” the judges wrote.
It’s a big win for Trump, who, when the ruling was issued, was in a Manhattan courtroom for unrelated litigation — criminal charges that he falsified business records to cover up hush money payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels.
Despite the break, the attorney general’s office insists that Trump is still reaping the consequences of his actions.
“Donald Trump is still facing accountability for his staggering fraud. The court has already found that he engaged in years of fraud to falsely inflate his net worth and unjustly enrich himself, his family, and his organization,” a spokesperson for the attorney general’s office said in a statement. “The $464 million judgment — plus interest — against Donald Trump and the other defendants still stands.”
The New York Attorney General brought the case against Trump in 2022, accusing him of falsely inflating the value of his assets to short banks and insurers in business transactions.
Last month, Judge Engoron ruled that Trump engaged in frauds that “leap off the page and shock the conscience.” He ordered the former president to pay approximately $454 million, which increases daily with interest. Trump’s co-defendants are on the hook for the additional $10 million.
Trump was quick to appeal Engoron’s judgment, claiming that the court “abused its discretion, and/or acted in excess of its jurisdiction” in ordering him to pay the sum.
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