Former President Donald Trump has been denied a request to temporarily halt the collection of a $450 million judgment by a New York judge. This decision could potentially force Trump to sell off parts of his property empire.
What Happened: Trump’s appeal against the civil fraud ruling was rejected. This means he must find hundreds of millions of dollars to deposit with the court or risk his assets being seized by state authorities. This includes his New York properties, while he awaits a hearing on the request in front of a full panel of judges on the appeals court in Manhattan, reported the Financial Times on Wednesday.
Trump’s legal team had previously warned that their client was unable to post the full sum necessary to delay enforcement of the judgment, which includes prejudgment interest, and offered instead to put up a bond worth $100 million. The New York attorney general's office, which brought the claim, asked the appellate division to force Trump to post the full amount.
Justice Anil Singh of the New York appellate division declined to accept the lower $100 million bond, but agreed to postpone the enforcement of other non-financial penalties against Trump. This includes barring him from running a business in the state for several years or taking out loans from state-chartered institutions.
The legal judgments have imposed a significant financial burden on Trump, who is also mounting a costly campaign for a second term as president while battling other court cases around the country. If Trump cannot pay, New York attorney-general Letitia James, who filed the fraud suit, has warned that she would seek to seize his properties.
Why It Matters: This development follows a series of events that began with Trump’s legal team requesting a 30-day extension to pay a $355 million business fraud verdict against him.
The fine, which has been accumulating interest since March 2019, has now reached approximately $450 million.
New York Attorney General Letitia James has previously indicated her readiness to seize Trump's assets if he fails to pay the fine.
Photo courtesy: Shutterstock
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