Donald Trump’s Lawyers Say They Have Been Unable To Secure Bond For $464 Million Fraud Judgment

Attorneys for Donald Trump said that they have been unable to secure a bond as they appeal his $464 million civil fraud judgment.

In a filing to the New York appeals court, his lawyers wrote that the amount of the judgment, along with interest, is of such a sum that “few bonding companies will consider a bond of anything approaching that magnitude.”

“The practical impossibility of obtaining a bond interferes with Defendants’ right to appeal and threatens this Court’s appellate jurisdiction,” Trump’s legal team argued in the filing.

Trump’s team is asking for a stay, something that would at least temporarily prevent Attorney General Letitia James from collecting the sum.

Trump’s attorneys said that they had approached about 30 surety companies through four separate brokers. They wrote that obtaining the appeal bond in the full amount was “not possible under the circumstances presented.”

The former president has to secure the judgment against him and his companies to prevent the attorney general from collecting as his legal team pursues and appeal.

Last month, Judge Arthur Engoron ruled that Trump and his companies owed the sum after earlier concluding that he had engaged in fraud by overstating the value of assets to secure more favorable terms from lenders. His ruling also restricted his ability to do business in the state. An appeals court declined to accept a bond of a lower amount of $100 million, although a stay does apply to Trump’s ability to serve as a corporate director or obtain loans.