Donald Trump posted a $175m bond in his New York civil fraud case on Monday, averting asset seizures by state authorities that could have hobbled the former US president’s business empire.
Trump, to face Joe Biden in the November US election, was found liable on 16 February for fraudulently inflating his net worth by billions of dollars to secure better loan and insurance terms.
Trump originally needed to post a bond for $454m, but an appeals court on 25 March stayed enforcement of Justice Arthur Engoron’s judgment on condition that Trump pay the smaller sum within 10 days.
A three-judge panel of the appeals court will hear Trump’s appeal on the merits. The appeals court ruling reducing the bond is no indication of how the panel will ultimately rule.
The bond prevents New York attorney general Letitia James from going after Trump’s properties, including Trump Tower, his 370-acre resort and golf course in Westchester and his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.
Trump has denied wrongdoing and said the case is a political witch hunt by James, a Democrat who sued him in 2022.
In a 92-page order, Engoron described how Trump directed deputies to change the values of his properties to arrive at his desired net worth for a decade before his entry into politics.
The case is part of a maelstrom of legal troubles Trump faces, including a criminal trial in New York set to begin on 15 April. Trump, who has pleaded not guilty, is accused in that case of illegally covering up hush money payments to a porn star ahead of the 2016 election.
He has also been charged in two cases with trying to overturn his 2020 election loss to Biden and in another over his handling of classified documents upon leaving office.
Those have been mired in delays and may not go to trial before the November election.
Trump has pleaded not guilty in all of them.
Former US President Donald Trump has posted a $175m (£140m) bond in his New York civil fraud case, staving off asset seizures by the state.
He was found in February to have fraudulently inflated property values, and was ordered to pay a $464m penalty.
Posting bond means New York’s attorney general cannot enforce the penalty, by freezing bank accounts or taking property, until his appeals are heard.
The Republican denies wrongdoing and says the case is a political hit job.
Mr Trump was originally ordered to post bond amounting to the full penalty but it was reduced to $175m last week after his lawyers said it was “impossible” to secure a bond of that size.
Donald Trump posted the $175m bond in his New York civil fraud case late on Monday, temporarily halting enforcement of the full $464m in penalties the former president faces after his company was found guilty of misrepresenting the value of its assets over a ten-year to swindle banks and insurers.
The belated bond payment came as state officials were preparing to seize Mr Trump’s properties to fulfill the judgement.
Meanwhile, the judge in the Republican presidential candidate’s hush money trial has moved to tighten his gag order in accordance with a request from Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg over Mr Trump’s continued and “vitriolic” attacks on the justice’s family.
New York Supreme Court judge Juan Merchan said that the defendant’s statements represented a “very real” threat to the integrity of the trial.
Also on Monday, the parent company of Mr Trump’s Truth Social platform lost 20 per cent of its value during trading on the Nasdaq after an SEC filing showed the company had made a $58m loss in 2023.
Having only gone public last week, it has been a volatile ride for Trump Media & Technology Group, which peaked at $79 per share on Thursday before falling to $48.66.
Since the final quarter of 2023, Biden has seen brutal poll after brutal poll showing his numbers tanking. The reasons for his decline have been manifold: people continue to worry about his age, young Democratic voters are dissatisfied about his support for Israel and people still blame him for high inflation.
But the president’s numbers now seem to be improving to some degree.
A recent CNBC All-America Economic Survey showed Biden about even with Trump and a Quinnipiac University poll released last week also showed the race virtually unchanged from February but still too close to call.
Trump still has numerous advantages, given that his supporters seem more enthusiastic. At the same time, Biden has started to gain some structural advantages.
Here are three reasons why Biden is improving – and one reason why he still trails Trump – from Eric Garcia.
Donald Trump has been uncharacteristically quiet on what is likely to be one of the biggest foreign policy issues of his second term, should he win in November.
But in the few interviews and statements he has given on Israel and the war in Gaza, the former president has shown signs that he may be cooling in his support for the longtime US ally.
In a recent interview, the former president spoke about how he had been disturbed by images and videos showing civilians bearing the brunt of the onslaught and called for an end to the war.
Trump’s recent comments on Gaza have been interpreted as a sign that his previous unyielding support for Israel is not guaranteed in a second term, Richard Hall writes
President Biden and Trump both issued social media posts on Sunday in which they wished their followers a Happy Easter, though their messages differed somewhat in tone.
Biden’s, written on Twitter/X, was short and simple, stating: “To all those gathering in churches and homes around the world today: Happy Easter. May God bless and keep you.”
In his own message, posted on his social media platform Truth Social, Trump also wished a “Happy Easter to all,” although he included an attack on those seeking to “put me in prison”.
“The Bible does not need Donald Trump’s endorsement and Jesus, in the very last week of his life, chased the money changers out of the temple, those who would take sacred things and use them as cheap relics to be sold in the marketplace,” Reverend Raphael Warnock told CNN on Sunday.
‘The Bible does not need Donald Trump’s endorsement and Jesus, in the very last week of his life, chased the money changers out of the temple,’ Rev Raphael Warnock says
In case you missed this over the weekend, Saturday Night Live set its sights on Trump once again – this time over his ridiculous attempts to sell Bibles.
Days after late-night hosts skewered the former president for his unconvincing pivot to Bible salesmanship, the US sketch show lampooned him in a cold open during its latest episode, which was hosted by Ramy Youssef.
Last week, Trump released an infomercial in which, ahead of Easter Sunday, he endorsed a “God Bless The USA” Bible – a special version inspired by the patriotic Lee Greenwood anthem of the same name – worth $60.
Here’s the latest from the desk of Don, who begrudgingly announces has made his $175m bond payment in time before having one final go at Judge Arthur Engoron, state attorney general Letitia James and “the sadly failing and very troubled State of New York”.
On Monday, thousands of children and their families will gather on the White House South Lawn for the annual Egg Roll, an Easter tradition that dates back to the nineteenth century.
But this year’s celebrations have been marred as Republican politicians and commentators falsely accused President Joe Biden’s administration of banning religious themes and symbols from the celebration’s art contest — failing to note that the policy has been in place during every administration for almost 50 years.
Former president Donald Trump is being heavily criticised on social media after he shared a video of Maga-branded pickup trucks that included an image of president Joe Biden kidnapped and bound in the back.
Mr Trump posted the video with little added commentary on Truth Social. It shows two passing trucks decked out with flags and messages including “Trump 2024”.
On the back of one of the trucks is an image of President Biden with his hands and feet tied.
Donald Trump and eight of his co-defendants in the Georgia election interference case have appealed a judge’s decision to keep Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis on the case.
In a filing submitted to the Georgia Court of Appeals on Friday afternoon, attorneys for the former president and his co-defendants claimed Ms Willis should not be allowed to preside over the case and allowing her to do so would result in errors in each trial and public mistrust in the judicial system.
Watch as Saturday Night Live mocks Donald Trump’s scheme to sell bibles. This week’s Easter-themed cold open starred James Austin Johnson as the former president peddling his branded Good Book for $60. A “resurrected Trump” returns from the dead, before shoving fellow cast-mates off the stage. “Imagine how weird it would be if I started selling bibles… well, I’m selling bibles,” Johnson says. “Sounds like a joke and in many ways it is, but it’s also very real.” Johnson goes on to say that his favourite part of the Bible is “probably the ending”.
