Donald Trump is currently grappling with a barrage of legal challenges targeting his assets and wealth, initiated through various cases brought forth by Democrats utilizing what is referred to as “lawfare” against the leading figure in the GOP.
In recent months, Trump has encountered significant setbacks with two noteworthy rulings issued by Democratic judges. In a defamation lawsuit, the former president was mandated to pay over $80 million to E. Jean Carroll, who accused him of assaulting her decades ago.
In a separate case, the New York Attorney General filed a lawsuit accusing the ex-president of “fraud.” Despite assertions from the purported victims—banks that extended loans to Trump—that no fraudulent activity occurred, a liberal judge overseeing the case delivered an unprecedented ruling, ordering Trump to pay over $300 million in damages to the state. This move seems strategically aimed at undermining the Trump campaign’s financial standing for the upcoming White House race.
Adding to the complexity of challenging these contentious rulings, the appeals court has compelled Trump to post an initial bond of nearly half a billion dollars merely to initiate the process of securing a fair trial.
Earlier this week, Trump made his first move to fight back, The Washington Post writes.
Donald Trump on Friday secured a bond for more than $91 million to cover the defamation judgment he owes writer E. Jean Carroll, clearing the way for him to appeal that verdict even as he tries to secure a much larger bond for a separate business fraud judgment due this month.
A document was posted in federal court memorializing Trump’s agreement with Chubb, the insurance giant that underwrote the bond to cover the $83.3 million in damages that a jury awarded to Carroll in January for defaming her in 2019, when he was president, after she accused him of long-ago sexual assault. Trump also filed a notice saying he will appeal the judgment against him.
Trump, who is seeking a second term in the White House and is the likely Republican nominee to challenge President Biden, had faced a Monday deadline to post the bond. He separately is expected to come up with more than $450 million later to cover the judgment in the fraud lawsuit against him and his namesake company, a staggering amount that Trump’s lawyers have said could force him to sell some properties.
In the lawsuit brought by Carroll, the bond Trump posted still has to be approved by the judge overseeing the case, U.S. District Court Judge Lewis A. Kaplan. Once it’s signed by the judge, the bond will prohibit Carroll’s attorneys from collecting from Trump while the appeal process plays out. It was not clear from court records what collateral Trump presented to obtain the bond from Chubb.
Attorney General Letitia James has proven what a sham, partisan attack her fraud case is. She has been criticized for unethically taunting Donald Trump on Twitter, tweeting his interest payments on the original $330 million judgement.
When Trump appeals, I have a feeling these dumb tweets will come back to haunt them. https://t.co/KpGfJaFXOj
— Mark Hemingway (@Heminator) February 26, 2024
James has vowed to seize Trump Tower if the former president cannot come up with over $400 million in cash to post as bond.
“Saying that she was “very confident” with the strength of her case on appeal, James reiterated that her office would not hesitate to seize Trump’s assets — mentioning Trump’s 40 Wall Street skyscraper by name — if the former president is unable to find the cash to cover the court-ordered disgorgement,” wrote ABC News.
“We are prepared to make sure that the judgment is paid to New Yorkers, and yes, I look at 40 Wall Street each and every day,” James said of the standard court process for collecting judgments in civil cases.”
James has been accused of having a personal vendetta against Trump, doing the dirty work to prosecute the sitting president’s greatest challenger to re-election.
Tish James should be disbarred pic.twitter.com/RQdQwc6SDp
— Citizen Free Press (@CitizenFreePres) September 21, 2022
In 2018, James ran for the sole purpose of destroying Donald Trump, whether she believed he committed crimes or not.
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