Donald Trump Reveals His Plan After Bond Gets Reduced

On Monday, former President Donald Trump announced his intention to pay the appeal bond for his civil business fraud ruling after an appeals court ruled that he could proceed with a much lower amount than the $454 million penalty against him.

"We will abide by the decision of the Appellate Division, and post either a bond, equivalent securities, or cash," Trump wrote on Truth Social.

Context

In February, Trump was hit with a massive penalty after being found liable in a civil fraud suit brought against him and The Trump Organization by New York Attorney General Letitia James, which accused him of a long-term scheme to inflate his net worth and the worth of his assets in order to secure more favorable business loans.

With interest, the penalty is now more than $450 million. Trump had until Monday to either pay the fee or post an appeal bond of roughly the same amount, which would stay the enforcement of the ruling as his legal team fought the original decision.

Due to the high amount of the penalty against him, Trump had difficulty securing the amount, according to reports and court filings, with over 30 surety entities denying his request for coverage of the bond. He was seeking a bond of $464 million to cover the disgorgement of his sons, Eric and Donald Jr., who were co-defendants in the case.

Disgorgement requires a party who benefits financially from illegal or wrongful acts to give up any profits they made as a result of that conduct.

In a filing to a New York appeals court last week, the former president's legal team asked that he be allowed to post a smaller amount for the appeal bond, calling the full amount a "practical impossibility."

What We Know

Trump was given a reprieve on Monday when an appeals court granted a motion to allow him to post a smaller amount in order to begin the appeals process and stave off the enforcement of the penalty against him, which could have seen the state seize his real estate assets.

While his lawyers had requested a bond of $100 million, the court ruled that he could post $175 million, which he announced his intention to do in a Truth Social post on Monday.

"We will abide by the decision of the Appellate Division, and post either a bond, equivalent securities, or cash," the post read. "This also shows how ridiculous and outrageous [Judge Arthur] Engoron's original decision was at $450 Million. I DID NOTHING WRONG, AND NEW YORK SHOULD NEVER BE PUT IN A POSITION LIKE THIS AGAIN. BUSINESSES ARE FLEEING, VIOLENT CRIME IS FLOURISHING, AND IT IS VERY IMPORTANT THAT THIS BE RESOLVED IN ITS TOTALITY AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. THANK YOU!"

Newsweek reached out to the New York Attorney General's office via email on Monday for comment.

Views

In a statement on the appellate court ruling, James stressed that the lowered bond does not undo the ruling that Trump is liable for fraud.

"Donald Trump is still facing accountability for his staggering fraud," the statement read. "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. The $464 million judgment [sic]—plus interest—against Donald Trump and the other defendants still stands."

What Comes Next

While Monday was the initial deadline for the ruling, the appellate court also gave Trump a 10-day extension to post the lowered bond.