Current:Home > MyTrump's lawyers say it's "a practical impossibility" to secure $464 million bond in time-LoTradeCoin
Trump's lawyers say it's "a practical impossibility" to secure $464 million bond in time
View Date:2024-12-25 02:20:52
Lawyers for former President Donald Trump say he's unlikely to secure a bond for the nearly half-billion he and other defendants need to pause a judge's February ruling in a New York civil fraud case.
They're asking an appeals court to stay the judgment while Trump challenges it. The judgment, with accrued interest, saddled the defendants with a $464 million tab. In a nearly 5,000-page filing on Monday, Trump's lawyers wrote that "a bond requirement of this enormous magnitude—effectively requiring cash reserves approaching $1 billion....is unprecedented."
They called the finding "grossly disproportional" to the offenses Trump and others were found liable for, specifically a decade-long scheme to defraud banks and insurers using overvaluations of properties and Trump's net worth.
"Very few bonding companies will consider a bond of anything approaching that magnitude," wrote the lawyers, Alina Habba, Clifford Robert, Christopher Kise and John Sauer.
Trump Organization general counsel Alan Garten wrote in the filing that surety companies are unwilling to accept real estate as collateral.
Garten said that the company "approached more than 30 surety companies, proposing to pledge as collateral a combination of cash or cash equivalents and unencumbered real estate holdings…[T]he vast majority simply do not have the financial strength to handle a bond of this size. Of those that do, the vast majority are unwilling to accept the risk associated with such a large bond."
Trump's filing in the case came one week after he posted a more than $90 million bond in order to appeal another recent legal defeat, a January decision by a federal jury that unanimously concluded he defamed the writer E. Jean Carroll. In that case, he secured a bond through a subsidiary of the insurance giant Chubb.
The filing includes an affidavit from an insurance executive who said he has "been in contact with some of the largest insurance carriers in the world in an effort to try and obtain a bond" for Trump in the case.
The executive, Gary Giuletti, president of private insurance firm Lockton Companies, wrote that he believes it "is not possible under the circumstances presented" for the defendants to secure a bond.
"Simply put, a bond of this size is rarely, if ever, seen," Giuletti wrote.
Giuletti testified as an expert witness in Trump's defense during the fraud trial, describing himself as a longtime friend who is a member of "a bunch of his clubs." He is also an insurance broker doing business for the Trump Organization.
Judge Arthur Engoron was critical of Giuletti's testimony during the trial, as well as the defense team's decision to use him as a witness.
"In its over 20 years on the bench, this Court has never encountered an expert witness who not only was a close personal friend of a party, but also had a personal financial interest in the outcome of the case for which he is being offered as an expert," Engoron wrote in his Feb. 16 ruling.
A spokesperson for Attorney General Letitia James declined to comment. James' office has said Trump has until March 25 to put up a bond for the entire judgment in order to prevent her office from collecting the damages while he appeals. James has said the state could seek to seize property from Trump if he does not pay the judgment.
- In:
- Fraud
- Donald Trump
- New York
Graham Kates is an investigative reporter covering criminal justice, privacy issues and information security for CBS News Digital. Contact Graham at [email protected] or [email protected]
veryGood! (9)
Related
- Eva Longoria calls US 'dystopian' under Trump, has moved with husband and son
- Journalist ordered to pay over $5,000 to Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni for making fun of her height
- The Barely Recognizable J.D. Vance as Trump’s Vice Presidential Running Mate
- Small businesses grapple with global tech outages created by CrowdStrike
- John Robinson, successful football coach at USC and with the LA Rams, has died at 89
- Pediatric anesthesiologist accused of possessing, distributing child sexual abuse material
- Setback to Israel-Hamas cease-fire talks as far-right Israeli official visits contested Jerusalem holy site
- Christina Hall and Josh Hall Break Up: See Where More HGTV Couples Stand
- Kathy Bates likes 'not having breasts' after her cancer battle: 'They were like 10 pounds'
- Tampa Bay Rays put top hitter Yandy Diaz on restricted list
Ranking
- Deommodore Lenoir contract details: 49ers ink DB to $92 million extension
- Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle to testify Monday about Trump shooting
- How many points did Caitlin Clark score in WNBA All-Star Game?
- Man in custody after 4 found dead in Brooklyn apartment attack, NYPD says
- Lee Zeldin, Trump’s EPA Pick, Brings a Moderate Face to a Radical Game Plan
- Endangered tiger cubs make their public debut at zoo in Germany
- Delta Air Lines says cancellations continue as it tries to restore operations after tech outage
- Maine trooper in cruiser rear-ended, injured at traffic stop, strikes vehicle he pulled over
Recommendation
-
How Kim Kardashian Navigates “Uncomfortable” Situations With Her 4 Kids
-
Christina Sandera, Clint Eastwood's longtime partner, dies at 61: Reports
-
Florida man arrested, accused of making threats against Trump, Vance on social media
-
Jake Paul rants about Dana White, MMA fighters: 'They've been trying to assassinate me'
-
Judge set to rule on whether to scrap Trump’s conviction in hush money case
-
Behind Biden’s asylum halt: Migrants must say if they fear deportation, not wait to be asked
-
Joe Biden Drops Out of 2024 Presidential Election
-
Gwyneth Paltrow Shares What Worries Her Most About Her Kids Apple and Moses