Letitia James returns to court to prove that Trump’s bail in his fraud case is invalid, clearing the way for seizure of his assets

A court hearing scheduled for April 22 will determine whether Donald Trump has met the conditions required to stay on bail, reduced from the $464 million he was required to pay to New York State to appeal a civil fraud verdict against him earlier this 12 months .

A dissent to the deal filed earlier this month by New York Attorney General Letitia James raised serious concerns about whether Trump had met the terms of the reduced $175 million bond that Trump received in late March after the former president successfully appealed the requirement paid a deposit in the amount of the full judgment amount plus interest. James was prepared to begin seizing Trump’s assets if he couldn’t pay the full amount in money.

Trump’s lawyers responded this week to James’ April 4 motion, arguing that her office’s review of the bond posted last month was unnecessary and lacking detail, adding that she should bear the costs of the escalating legal battle.

“The NYAG exception is unnecessary and should be offset by costs. “Her scant notice reveals no shortcomings other than her failure to include a certificate of qualification,” reads the motion filed by Trump’s lawyers. “Although the certificate would be conclusive justifying evidence, it is not the only justifying evidence.”

Earlier, Trump had asked for a delay in paying the massive high-quality while difficult the unprecedented ruling, although defendants in New York typically must post bail higher than the sentence to be eligible for an appeal.

A Feb. 16 ruling by Judge Arthur Engoron found Trump responsible for inflating the value of his New York properties, including hotels and golf clubs, while defrauding banks and insurers for many years.

In late March, a New York appeals court stopped short of putting the former president into debt collection if he could collect $175 million inside 10 days, but James’ motion filed in early April questioned whether the conditions had been met.

Initial problems with the first bond order led to an amended version that would have allowed Trump to pay 62 percent lower than the original judgment.

A small number of billionaire donors have stepped up greater than a month after the verdict to help Trump raise his recent bonds, which Trump admits he cannot afford to pay in money after bragging for years that he is one of the world’s richest billionaires .

Ultimately, Knight Specialty Insurance Company and its owner Don Hankey committed to providing $175 million and helping Trump prevent the attorney general from seizing Trump’s assets for a mass verdict.

In her April 4 arguments, James claimed that Trump’s lower bond amount was issued “without a certificate of qualification under § 1111 of the Insurance Act” and that Trump’s legal team had to file additional documents inside 10 days to “justify the bond.”

However, Trump’s lawyers dismissed James’ concerns about the “sufficiency of the surety bond.”

Trump’s lawyers and KSIC’s lawyers filed papers on April 15 in response to James, arguing that the attorney general’s objection to their bond needs to be dismissed and her office should cover costs incurred in responding to her objection.

Lawyers acknowledged that a “certificate of eligibility” would eliminate the need to explain the bond. However, they argued in the note that Engoron could approve the bond even without the certificate. They said there was “overwhelming” evidence in the documents showing that the $175 million bond was secured by $175 million in money in a Schwab brokerage account controlled by KSIC.

The latest court filing underscored Trump’s dire financial situation, as disclosures made during the February campaign revealed that about $50 million from Republican Party donors was used to pay Trump’s outstanding legal bills amid a flurry of criminal and civil charges.

Engoron’s ruling also coincided with a separate ruling in a defamation suit brought by writer E. Jean Carroll, in which Trump was ordered to pay $83 million.

In the lawsuit filed by AG James, Trump was ordered to pay $355 million, which just about immediately increased to $454 million with interest, a rise of greater than $85,000 for every day that Trump failed to pay the full amount of the high-quality.

James filed a civil lawsuit against Trump in 2022 after discovering evidence of systematic fraud at the Trump Organization, including schemes that inflated Trump’s net price with false financial statements.

Last 12 months, Trump and his adult sons testified at trial and accused the accountants of financial mismanagement. Both Trump Jr. and Eric Trump testified that that they had little to do with their father’s financial statements, stressing that other executives at the Trump Organization were responsible for keeping the books.