©Reuters. FILE PHOTO: Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. President Donald Trump speaks on stage during a campaign rally tonight in Richmond, Virginia, U.S., March 2, 2024. REUTERS/Jay Paul/File Photo
By Luc Cohen
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Donald Trump has so far failed to secure bail that would allow him to appeal a $454 million judgment against the former U.S. president in a New York civil fraud case without paying himself the full amount, his lawyers said Monday.
Trump must find the cash or post bond to prevent state authorities from seizing his properties as he appeals Judge Arthur Engoron’s Feb. 16 decision ordering him and co-defendants to pay $464 million in penalties and interest for having Misrepresented property values to deceive lenders and insurers.
In a court filing Monday, lawyers for the Republican presidential candidate urged a mid-level state appeals court to delay enforcement of the judgment, arguing the amount was excessive.
They said the defendants had so far approached 30 surety companies through four separate intermediaries to get bail.
“Enforcing an impossible bail requirement as a condition of appeal would inflict clear and irreparable harm on defendants,” Trump’s lawyers wrote.
Lawyers instead asked that he be allowed to post $100 million bail while he appeals the sentence. A surety company would be exposed to any payouts if Trump loses his appeal and proves unable to pay.
Trump’s lawyers included a statement from Gary Giulietti, an executive at the insurance brokerage Lockton Companies, who Trump hired to secure bail.
Giulietti wrote that a bond for the full $464 million “is not possible under the circumstances presented,” noting that many guarantors would not issue bonds larger than $100 million and would only be willing to accept cash or securities – not immovable – as collateral.
Trump has denied any wrongdoing in the case, which was brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James in New York state court in Manhattan.
Trump earlier this month issued a $91.6 million bond to cover an $83.3 million defamation verdict against writer E. Jean Carroll while he appeals, in a case born out of labeled her a liar after she accused him of raping her decades ago.