April 1 (UPI) — Former President Donald Trump posted a $175 million bond Monday, to keep the state of New York from seizing his assets, as he appeals the civil fraud case against him.
The bond was reduced from $464 million and was originally due on March 25. The New York appeals court cut the amount by more than half at the deadline, and gave the former president 10 more days to post.
“I’ve just posted a 175 million-dollar bond with the sadly failing and very troubled state of New York,” Trump wrote Monday night in a post on X.
“The case was a fabricated election interference con job, so bad for New York where businesses are fleeing and violent crime is flourishing,” Trump added.
The former president accused Judge Arthur Engoron and Attorney General Letitia James in his post of using a “statute that was never used for this before, where no jury was allowed, my financial statements were conservative and had a 100% perfect caution/non-reliance clause and there were no victims.”
The bond posted Monday was underwritten by Knight Specialty Insurance. It does not list the collateral Trump used to secure it.
If Trump does not win on appeal, he will have to pay the more than $450 million judgment after Judge Engoron ruled in February that the former president and his co-defendants fraudulently inflated the value of his assets to obtain better loan rates and terms. Trump was also banned from conducting real estate business in the state of New York for three years.
After Trump’s attorneys could not find an insurance company to underwrite the $464 million bond, which climbed by $111,000 a day in interest from the original $354 million judgment, James said she was prepared to seize Trump’s assets. The New York appeals court stepped in once the 30-day deadline hit, and lowered the bond to $175 million.
“As promised, President Trump has posted bond,” Trump attorney Alina Habba said Monday in a statement. “He looks forward to vindicating his rights on appeal and overturning this unjust verdict.”
Trump posted a $91.6 million bond last month in the E. Jean Carroll defamation case, which he is also appealing.
“Also posted a 91 million-dollar bond on another New York fake case, money I can’t use on my campaign,” Trump added in his post Monday night, calling it a witch hunt. “Just what crooked Joe wanted.”