In an eleventh-hour Monday ruling, an appeals court has ordered that President Donald Trump’s unprecedented $454 million bond payment must be slashed to $175M.
The deadline for paying the huge $454M bond was Monday, March 25.
However, the appeals court has given Trump ten days from Monday to pay the new figure of $175 million.
Responding to the news, Trump said he will “abide” by the appeals court ruling.
The New York Appeals Court issued the ruling just hours before Trump was expected to pay the massive bond that was issued as a result of civil “fraud” allegations from the state’s Democrat Attorney General Letitia James.
The bond, which is far larger than any other individual or private company has ever faced, was issued by radical Judge Arthur Engroon, who presided over James’s get-Trump case.
The ruling will be a major blow to the Democrats, who were hoping the massive bond amount for force Trump to sell his properties or face having them seized.
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If Trump does post the $175 million by the new deadline, it would effectively block James from attempts to seize Trump’s assets as he continues to appeal the judgment by New York Judge Arthur Engoron.
In response to the ruling, Trump blasted Engoron in a Monday post on Truth Social, saying:
“Judge Engoron has refused to obey the decision of the Appellate Division relative to the Statute of Limitations.
“This is a confrontation between a Judge and those that rule above him – A very bad situation in which to place New York State and the Rule of Law!
“Engoron has disrespected the Appellate Division and its very clear and precise ruling.
“He should be made to do so, and at the same time, release the GAG ORDER.”
Trump said the appeals ruling Monday is “the 5th time in this case that he has been overturned, a record.”
Trump blasted Engoron, saying “his credibility, and that of Letitia James, has been shattered.”
“We will abide by the decision of the Appellate Division, and post either a bond, equivalent securities, or cash,” Trump said.
“This also shows how ridiculous and outrageous Engoron’s original decision was at $450 Million.”
Trump added, in all capital letters:
“I DID NOTHING WRONG, AND NEW YORK SHOULD NEVER BE PUT IN A POSITION LIKE THIS AGAIN.
“BUSINESSES ARE FLEEING, VIOLENT CRIME IS FLOURISHING, AND IT IS VERY IMPORTANT THAT THIS BE RESOLVED IN ITS TOTALITY AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. THANK YOU!”
Trump said Engoron and James “should be forced to explain why he ruled that Mar-a-Lago was worth $18,000,000 when, in fact, it is worth from 50 to 100 times that amount.”
“How did the Attorney General of the State of New York force this Corrupt Judge to do that in order to help her narrative – AND WHY?” he posted.
Trump attorney Christopher Kise, reacting to the ruling, said it “represents a great first step towards the ultimate reversal of a baseless and reckless judgment.”
“The First Department no doubt recognized the rule of law must triumph over the political agenda of the Attorney General,” Kise said in a statement.
“President Trump looks forward to a full and fair appellate process which overturns the judgment and ends the Attorney General’s abuse of power and tyrannical pursuit of the front-running candidate for President of the United States.”
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for James on Monday said Trump “is still facing accountability for his staggering fraud.”
“The court has already found that he engaged in years of fraud to falsely inflate his net worth and unjustly enrich himself, his family, and his organization,” James’ spokesperson said.
“The $464 million judgment – plus interest – against Donald Trump and the other defendants still stands.”
Trump and his legal team had appealed and requested a stay on his $454 million civil fraud judgment.
The 45th president’s legal team said the initial requested bond was “unprecedented for a private company,” and said to post it in the judgment’s full amount was a “practical impossibility.”
Trump, the 2024 presumptive GOP presidential nominee, has vowed to fight the case “all the way up to the U.S. Supreme Court if necessary.”
As Slay News reported earlier, Trump confirmed Friday that he can afford to post bond but is pushing with his legal team to appeal the ruling altogether.
Trump said he has nearly $500 million in cash but said the money was intended for his re-election campaign.
However, more good news emerged for Trump that revealed he would be able to massively fund his campaign and pay the bond.
His company, Trump Media & Technology Group, the parent company of Truth Social, is set to become public after a merger on Monday, as Slay News reported.
The company will trade on the Nasdaq as “DJT.”
Trump owns more than 78 million shares of the stock, valued at nearly $4 billion.
At this point, his shares are frozen meaning it would take Trumo six months to get his hand on the money if he cashes out.
Nevertheless, the board of the company can vote to un-freeze those assets if necessary.
The deal will more than double Trump’s net worth and has been hailed as a “game changer.”
However, despite the good news, Trump warns that he won’t allow the Democrats to use legal lawfare attacks against him and his family to meddle in the November election.
“That doesn’t mean I’m going to give money to a rogue and incompetent judge – the puppet of a corrupt attorney general who’s failing with violent crime and migrant crime and whose only purpose in life is attempting to get Trump,” Trump warned, referring to Engoron and James.
Engoron’s ruling came after a months-long non-jury trial stemming from James’s years-long “investigation.”
James, when campaigning to become attorney general, vowed to “get Trump.”
“We’re definitely gonna sue him, we’re gonna be a real pain in the a–,” James once told a supporter on video.
Engoron ruled that Trump and other defendants were liable for “persistent and repeated fraud,” “falsifying business records,” “issuing false financial statements,” “conspiracy to falsify false financial statements,” “insurance fraud” and “conspiracy to commit insurance fraud.”
An appeals court overturned Engoron’s ruling to allow Trump and his sons to continue running the family business as they appeal the decision.
Trump and his family denied any wrongdoing, with the 45th president saying his assets had been undervalued.
Trump’s legal team insisted that his financial statements had disclaimers, and made it clear to banks that they should conduct their own assessments.
Throughout the trial, Trump attorneys brought witnesses, including former Deutsche Bank top executives, who testified the banks sought additional business from Trump.
The banks said they viewed Trump as a “whale of a client” and made a lot of money from his business.
Trump’s defense also brought in expert witnesses, including New York University accounting professor Eli Bartov.
Bartov reviewed the Trump financial statements at issue in the case and said he found no evidence of accounting fraud.
Bartov testified last month that Trump’s financial statements did not violate accounting principles.
“My main finding is that there is no evidence whatsoever of any accounting fraud,” Bartov testified.
Trump’s financial statements, he said, “were not materially misstated.”
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