NEW YORK (AP) – Days after former President Donald Trump posted $175 million bail to block New York state's imminent collection of a huge civil fraud judgment, state attorneys on Thursday He asked for further information on the validity of the bail amount.
State Attorney General Letitia James' office filed paperwork giving Trump's lawyers or bond underwriters 10 days to “justify” the bond. This is essentially to show that the company can make money with its bonds. That could mean further disclosure about the collateral provided by Mr. Trump.
A hearing was set for April 22nd.
Christopher Kise, one of Mr. Trump's lawyers, said that after an appeals court last month sharply reduced the amount of bail required to defer collection, Mr. , trying to provoke “a baseless public fight.”
“It's another witch hunt!” Kise wrote in an email.
A message seeking comment was left with the underwriter, Knight Specialty Insurance Company.
The bail, issued Monday, at least temporarily blocks the state from seizing Trump's assets to repay the more than $454 million he owes after losing a lawsuit. . The lawsuit, brought by a Democratic attorney general, alleges that Trump, along with his companies and key executives, lied about his wealth and defrauded bankers and insurance companies.
The former president and potential Republican nominee denies the allegations and is appealing the ruling.
By posting bail, Trump aimed to halt the execution of the sentence pending appeal. However, things did not go completely smoothly.
First, the court system returned Monday's request for additional documentation, including financial statements, from Knight Specialty Insurance. The report, filed Thursday, shows the company has more than $539 million in assets, and its affiliated reinsurer, Knight Insurance Company, has more than $2.1 billion in assets.
Mr. James's office then filed a notice of “exception to the sufficiency” of the bonds. This is a step that judgment winners can take in some cases to obtain more information from out-of-state underwriters.
Knight Specialty Insurance is based in Wilmington, Delaware and is part of the Los Angeles-based Knight Insurance Group.
The Attorney General's notice does not request specific information. However, “justification” generally means proving that the underwriter is financially sound and able to pay the bond amount if the judgment is upheld.
A state appellate court also held in an unrelated case that bonds must be shown to be “sufficiently secured by identifiable assets.”
Don Hankey, chairman of Knight Insurance Group, told The Associated Press on Monday that cash and bonds were used as collateral for Trump's appeal bond.
Eric Trump, the former president's son and the company's top executive, said in a social media post Thursday that the bonds are fully backed by cash.
The attorney general's opposition is “just another example of the absurdity and stupidity that has been the underlying theme throughout this cycle of events,” the younger Trump wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
He and his brother, Donald Trump Jr., executive vice president of the Trump Organization, were also named defendants in the fraud lawsuit. They were found responsible and ordered to pay $4 million each.
In total, the verdicts against Mr. Trump, his sons, and other defendants total more than $467 million, and interest is growing daily.
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Associated Press writers Michael R. Sisak in New York and Brian Slodisco in Washington contributed.
