Donald Trump’s lawyers told a New York appellate court on Monday that he can't post a bond covering the full amount of a $454 million civil fraud judgment.
The announcement suggests the former president's legal losses have put him in a serious cash crunch.
Trump's lawyers wrote in a court filing that “obtaining an appeal bond in the full amount” of the judgment “is not possible under the circumstances presented."
Trump claimed last year that he has “fairly substantially over $400 million in cash,” but back-to-back courtroom defeats have pushed his legal debt north of a half-billion dollars.
Trump’s lawyers asked the state’s intermediate appeals court to reverse a prior ruling requiring that he post a bond covering the full amount in order to halt enforcement while he appeals the judgment in New York Attorney General Letitia James’ lawsuit.
James, a Democrat, has said she will seek to seize some of Trump's assets if he is unable to pay.
Trump’s financial constraints are being laid bare as he appeals Judge Arthur Engoron’s 16 February ruling that he and his co-defendants schemed for years to deceive banks and insurers by inflating his wealth on financial statements used to secure loans and make deals.
With interest, Trump owes the state $456.8 million. That amount is increasing nearly $112,000 each day. In all, he and co-defendants, including his company, sons Eric and Donald Trump Jr. and other executives, owe $467.3 million.
To obtain a bond, they would be required to post collateral covering 120% of the judgment, or about $557.5 million, Trump’s lawyers said.
