Donald Trump’s lawyers told a New York appeals court on Wednesday that he is willing to post $100 million bail to stop collection of his staggering fine for civil fraud, arguing that provisions of the verdict make it impossible for the former president obtains bail for the full amount.
Trump’s lawyers made the offer in court papers asking the state’s mid-level appeals court for an order preventing New York Attorney General Letitia James’ office from enforcing the $454 million judgment while it unfolds. your appeal. Trump would have to publish the full amount to automatically pause the collection.
The appeals court was expected to hear arguments at an emergency hearing on Wednesday.
Trump’s lawyers argued that a provision in Judge Arthur Engoron’s Feb. 16 ruling that bars Trump, his company and his co-defendants from obtaining loans from New York banks for three years prevents them from obtaining bail to cover the entire sentence. In total, Trump and his co-defendants owe more than $465 million.
“The exorbitant and punitive amount of the sentence, coupled with an illegal and unconstitutional blanket ban on credit transactions, would make it impossible to secure and post full bail,” Trump lawyers Clifford Robert, Alina Habba and Michael Farina wrote.
James’ office opposes Trump’s plan, saying his lawyers have all but admitted that he has “insufficient liquid assets to satisfy the judgment.”
“These are precisely the circumstances for which a full bond or deposit is necessary,” wrote Deputy Attorney General Dennis Fan, saying Trump’s offer would leave James’ office and the state “with substantial deficits” if the bailout is confirmed. verdict.
“The prevailing plaintiff is entitled to be assured of damages, and defendants have never demonstrated that Mr. Trump’s liquid assets could satisfy the full amount of the judgment,” Fan wrote.
James, a Democrat, has said she will seek to seize some of Trump’s assets if she cannot pay the judgment.
Engoron found that Trump, his company and top executives, including his sons Eric and Donald Trump Jr., conspired for years to deceive banks and insurers by inflating his wealth in financial statements used to guarantee loans and close deals.
Among other sanctions, the judge imposed strict limitations on the ability of Trump’s company, the Trump Organization, to do business. The documentation to make the sentence official was presented on February 23. That began a 30-day period for Trump to pay up or file an appeal and request a stay.
Also on Wednesday, white powder was found in an envelope addressed to Engoron at his Manhattan courthouse, the latest security scare involving the judge. Police said the substance landed on a court officer’s pants when the officer opened the envelope around 9:30 a.m. No injuries were reported and Engoron was not hurt.
In January, hours before closing arguments in the case, authorities responded to a bomb threat at the judge’s home. Engoron Chambers have reported hundreds of harassing and threatening calls, emails, letters and packages since the start of Trump’s trial in October.
Trump filed his appeal on Monday. His attorneys are asking the state trial court’s Appellate Division to decide whether Engoron “made errors of law and/or fact” and whether he abused his discretion or “acted in excess” of jurisdiction. of the.
Trump was not required to pay his fine or post bail in order to appeal, and filing the appeal did not automatically stop the execution of the sentence.
The favorite for the Republican presidency has until March 25 to obtain a stay, a legal mechanism that suspends collection while he appeals.
Trump would receive an automatic suspension if he provided money, assets or an appeal bond that covers what he owes. He also had the option, which he now exercises, of asking the appeals court to grant him a bail continuance for a lesser amount.
Trump’s lawyers said Trump’s vast real estate assets and the oversight required by the Engoron ruling, including oversight of his company by an independent monitor, “would alone be sufficient to adequately secure any confirmed conviction.”
The $100 million bond, they said, “would simply serve as additional collateral.”
Trump, the leading candidate for the Republican presidential nomination, maintains he is worth several billion dollars and testified last year that he had about $400 million in cash, plus property and other investments.
In total, Trump has at least $543.4 million in personal legal liabilities stemming from the Engoron ruling and two other civil court rulings in the last year.
In January, a jury ordered Trump to pay $83.3 million to writer E. Jean Carroll for defaming her after she accused him in 2019 of sexually assaulting her in a Manhattan department store in the 1990s. to the $5 million a jury awarded Carroll in a related trial last year.
#Donald #Trump #pay #million #bail #fraud #case #Diario #Página
