NY AG Letitia James urges appeals court to be wary of Trump’s bond story

New York Attorney General Letitia James granted Donald Trump a 30-day grace period to secure a bond for the $450 million+ necessary to satisfy the civil business-fraud judgment against him. With the deadline coming up quick, she’s not indulging his delay tactics. 

On Monday, Trump’s lawyers filed to a New York court stating that they made “diligent efforts” to secure the bond, reaching out to 30 different companies, but received a “no” from each one. In response to this, Dennis Fan, a lawyer for James, called the filing “procedurally improper,” adding that Trump’s team should have made their issues known earlier, and not days before payment is due.

Questioning why potential backers aren’t just accepting Trump’s real estate assets as collateral, Fan found opportunity for a dig at their true value, writing, “As far as the Court can infer, sureties may have refused to accept defendants’ specific holdings as collateral because using Mr. Trump’s real estate will generally need ‘a property appraisal’ and his holdings are not nearly as valuable as defendants claim.” 

If Trump doesn’t cough up by Monday, James could seize those assets for whatever they truly are worth.