A New York appeals court on Monday reduced the $454 million that former President Donald Trump was required to put up while he appeals his civil fraud case. Now Trump must put up, by April 4, a mere $175 million. The trouble is, he may not get a bond for that amount, either. Should that happen, this act of judicial mercy will end up feeling to Trump like a curse.
The stay deprives Trump of the only argument on which he was gaining any traction at all—that the amount the court required him to put up was excessively high. Four hundred and fifty-four million was indeed an unusually large judgment against a private corporation or individual. (The distinction between Trump and the Trump Organization is paper-thin.) Monday’s appeals court decision doesn’t reduce that judgment, as New York State Attorney General Letitia James pointed out in a written statement. But it does dramatically reduce the amount Trump needs to turn over to the state while he pursues his appeal. It also gives us some hint that the appeals court may reduce Judge Arthur Engoron’s $454 million judgment to, well, $175 million.
This is a bond for the appeal. The court could decide to make it $0.00 but he still owes the full amount if he loses the appeal.
And even if he paid the full 454mil to appeal, he still gets it back if he wins.
By the time that happens, he might be in the Oval Office again. That means he can just sell a few more state secrets to the Saudis, or straight up just not pay, cause some constitutional crisis and a civil war.
He prefers that to paying.
I don’t want him to have extra time to hide assets, which he will do. I am also appalled at the double standards of justice, now on display with a giant searchlight pointed towards them.