On Monday, former and potentially future President Donald Trump posted a $175 million bond in the civil case that New York Attorney General Letitia James brought against him over allegations he overvalued his assets. This prevents James from seizing his assets, something she had been all too eager to do, and also allows Trump to move forward with appealing the non-jury trial decision that came from Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron.
As the New York Post reported:
Donald Trump has posted a $175 million bond in his New York civil fraud case, freeing him up to start appealing the massive judgment.
The Knight Specialty Insurance Company backed the bond, an attorney for the Los Angeles-based firm wrote in a court filing Monday.
“As promised, President Trump has posted bond,” the former commander if chief’s lawyer, Alina Habba, said in a statement Monday evening. “He looks forward to vindicating his rights on appeal and overturning this unjust verdict.”
In February, Engoron found Trump, his adult sons, and other family members liable, thus resulting in a fine of $364 million, plus interest. James not only celebrated that decision, but was gleefully posting to social media on a regular basis the staggering amount Trump owed. A February poll from Harvard CAPS-Harris showed a slight majority of voters believe the "case was driven by political reasons."
Just in the nick of time before Trump was required to post a $454 million bond last week, that number was lowered to a still staggering $175 million, handing him a "partial victory."
The New York Post report also noted that while Trump plans to appeal the penalty, he was "first required to either put up the money or post a bond for the court to hold until the appeal is decided."
Even more breaking news about Trump's legal cases came on Monday night, as a gag order from Judge Juan Merchan was expanded to apply to the judge's daughter in the hush-money case brought by Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg. Merchan's adult daughter worked for Vice President Kamala Harris' presidential campaign.
Trump was indicted by a grand jury late March of last year and arraigned last April on 34 charges. Bragg charged Trump with felonies in a hush-money case when he could have brought the charges as misdemeanors, was using an untested legal theory, and the statute of limitations had expired.