Trump says he might have to sell assets at 'fire sale prices' to satisfy $464M bond
By Peter CharalambousSoo Rin KimLalee Ibssa,
2024-03-19
Former President Donald Trump is continuing to rail against the $464 million judgment in his New York civil fraud case , claiming Judge Arthur Engoron is trying to take away his rights and that he could be forced to sell his properties at "fire sale prices."
"Judge Engoron actually wants me to put up Hundreds of Millions of Dollars for the Right to Appeal his ridiculous decision," Trump posted on his social media platform Tuesday morning. "In other words, he is trying to take my Appellate Rights away from me," Trump said, in part.
"I would be forced to mortgage or sell Great Assets, perhaps at Fire Sale prices, and if and when I win the Appeal, they would be gone. Does that make sense?" Trump continued, in part.
Last month, Trump's lawyers asked for a stay of the enforcement and offered to instead secure a $100 million bond. A New York appellate judgment denied Trump's emergency application for a stay last month, but a panel of judges is considering Trump's request for a delay.
New York Attorney General Letitia James pushed back on the request, arguing Trump and his co-defendants "will attempt to evade enforcement of the judgment or to make enforcement more difficult."
"Moreover, there is significant risk that absent a full bond or deposit, defendants will attempt to evade enforcement of the judgment or to make enforcement more difficult after an appeal," Senior Assistant Solicitor Dennis Fan said last week, arguing that Trump should pay the judgment or get a bond for the full amount.
While Trump Organization general counsel Alan Garten said Monday that Trump is "financially stable" and maintains "substantial assets," the magnitude of the judgment would require him to use his real estate as collateral for the bond. According to the filing, more than 30 companies have declined to assist with Trump's bond, which the former president is attempting to secure using a combination of property and cash.
In a series of posts on his social media platform Monday night, Trump claimed the bond in the New York civil fraud case judgment is "unconstitutional," "unAmerican" and "unprecedented."
A bond of this size is "practically impossible for ANY Company, including one as successful as mine," Trump claimed in a series of posts on his social media platform, echoing his legal team's arguments.
Trump's attorneys, who have called the judgment "unconstitutionally excessive," asked an appellate court again on Monday to allow Trump to secure a bond in a lesser amount.
"Obtaining such cash through a 'fire sale' of real estate holdings would inevitably result in massive, irrecoverable losses -- textbook irreparable injury," defense lawyers Alina Habba and Clifford Robert wrote.
"If he does not have funds to pay off the judgment, then we will seek judgment enforcement mechanisms in court, and we will ask the judge to seize his assets," James said in an exclusive interview with ABC News' Aaron Katersky in February.
The former president has denied all wrongdoing and has said he will appeal.
ABC News' Aaron Katersky contributed to this report.
as soon as he sells any assets that he does have he already has a 220 million dollar debt before any of this happened they're going to take that money so that doesn't even cover the new criminal fine that he owes now.so it's basically going to be the same thing He's living off the backs of regular people other businesses that thought they were investing into something good but it's already been proven that he lied about his assets he lied about what he actually owns.somehow people have been brainwashed by this con artist which has happened before with other people but this is very big.
Get updates delivered to you daily. Free and customizable.
It’s essential to note our commitment to transparency:
Our Terms of Use acknowledge that our services may not always be error-free, and our Community Standards emphasize our discretion in enforcing policies. As a platform hosting over 100,000 pieces of content published daily, we cannot pre-vet content, but we strive to foster a dynamic environment for free expression and robust discourse through safety guardrails of human and AI moderation.