A giant financial drain on Donald Trump’s coffers is at the center of his appeal on his fraud case. But on Monday, Justice Arthur Engoron granted Trump a reprieve by allowing Knight Specialty Insurance to post a $175 million bond.
Donald Trump spent Monday morning in state criminal court in lower Manhattan, where his attorneys and lawyers for District Attorney Alvin Bragg gave opening statements in his hush-money case. But just two blocks away, Trump was granted a reprieve in another suit, his civil-fraud case, of which he was found liable in February for $464 million, including interest, for lying about the value of his properties. In the civil case, Justice Arthur Engoron allowed a California surety company to post bond after resolving issues about the money — and other legal issues — raised by the New York attorney’s office last week. (And what exactly is a bond in a case like that? More about that below!)
This suit is just a small part of the sprawling web of charges that he’s facing in New York; Washington, D.C.; and Georgia — but, unlike most of those others, this one has been decided, and the judgment is already draining his cash reserves as he prepares for the 2024 presidential election. For a while there, it looked like he would either be forced into a fire sale, or Attorney General Letitia James would make good on her threat to seize 40 Wall Street, one of the developer’s landmark properties. Still, the bond has become a window into Trump’s complicated finances. Here’s everything we know:
The purpose of the bond
In February, Trump appealed a ruling from Judge Engoron that would have put him and his companies on the hook for $355 million, plus about $110 million more in interest. (Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump, and Trump’s former CFO Alan Wiesselberg were also found liable.) But in order for that appeal to proceed, Trump had to post either the outstanding penalty himself or put up enough collateral so that a financial company could post his bond.
