On Monday (April 22), lawyers for Donald Trump reached an agreement with the New York State prosecutor to resolve a dispute over a $175 million appeal bond related to Trump’s civil fraud case. Trump and the surety company agreed to deposit the money into a cash account to alleviate concerns from the New York State Attorney General over the security and validity of the funds.
The agreement was reached during a Monday morning hearing, where the presiding judge, Arthur Engoron, listened to arguments from both the prosecution and defense on whether Trump’s $175 million bond should be declared null and void. However, the dispute was quickly resolved as Trump and the Knight Specialty Insurance Company, which provided the surety, agreed to deposit the bond into a cash account.
The surety company will have exclusive control over the account and will provide Trump with a monthly statement reflecting the $175 million in cash.
Trump submitted the $175 million bond on April 1 to prevent his assets from being seized by New York authorities during the appeal. The former president is appealing a hefty $464 million judgment (including interest) against him in this case.
However, New York’s Attorney General Letitia James questioned the surety company’s qualifications and asked the judge last week to declare the bond invalid, citing Trump’s failure to prove the company had the actual funds to support the surety.
In court documents, James alleged that Trump’s trust fund still controlled the account, and that the financial arrangements of Knight Specialty Insurance Company appeared insufficient to cover the bond.
The hearing on this matter was scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. on Monday, but it ended early after the parties reached an agreement.
Meanwhile, Trump was in a nearby Manhattan criminal court for his “hush money case” trial during the hearing. Outside the courtroom where the criminal trial was taking place, Trump defended his appeal bond issue in the New York civil fraud case.
Trump stated, “We put up the cash, 175. She (James) shouldn’t be complaining about the surety. The surety will be fine because the money comes from me. I have a lot of money to put up.”