Donald Trump’s lawyers cut a deal with state prosecutors Monday to secure his hefty $175 million civil fraud bond as he appeals the ruling in the case — even as his criminal trial got underway down the street.
State Attorney General Letitia James said Trump’s legal team agreed to secure the bond by keeping it in “a lockbox” while the onetime commander-in-chief fights to overturn a whopping $454 million judgment by Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron last month.
James had raised concerns that Trump controlled the money secured by Knight Specialty Insurance Company — owned by billionaire Trump supporter Don Hankey — and said the former president could even have earned interest on the money while his appeals of Engoron’s ruling are pending.
Under the deal, which is expected to be formalized on Thursday, the bond will remain as cash and can’t be swapped out for mutual funds or “other financial instruments,” prosecutors said.
Knight Specialty will have exclusive control over the money and will file monthly statements.
Earlier Monday, Trump himself defended the bond outside the criminal trial courtroom.
“We put up cash and the number is 175,” he told reporters. “[James] shouldn’t be complaining about the bonding company. The bonding company would be good for it because I put up the money.
“I have plenty of money to put up.”
Hankey had also previously defended the bond.
“We thought it would be an easy procedure that wouldn’t involve other legal problems and it’s not turning out that way,” he said. “We probably didn’t charge enough.”
Speaking outside the courtroom Monday, Trump attorney Alina Habba blasted James for questioning the legitimacy of the bond and quipped to reporters that the money “isn’t green enough” for the attorney general.
“We wasted time,” Habba said. “The judge said he thought money market accounts go down under the amount — he doesn’t understand basic principles of finance.
“The attorney general and that judge realized quickly that they had no idea what they were talking about,” she said. “We came to an agreement that everything would be the same, we would modify terms, and that was it. This is where your taxpayer dollars are going, America. Right here: witch hunt after witch hunt.”
Trump lawyer Christopher Kise later piled on in a pointed media statement.
“Despite another flawed and desperate protest by the Attorney General, President Trump is pleased the Court determined the $175 miilion he posted in cash is worth $175 million, and the bond form in use in the New York court system for a century is in fact acceptable,” he said.
The 77-year-old ex-president was initially required to pay the entire judgment, but successfully appealed to have the amount reduced while he fights Engoron’s judgment in the case.
The bond debate played out as Trump’s criminal trial begins in Manhattan Supreme Court, where the former president is accused of illegally paying hush money to ex-porn star Stormy Daniels to cover up an alleged tryst.
Trump has denied the affair and any illegality.
Trump is contesting Engoron’s $454 million judgment in the civil case, with the judge granting the lower bond amount while the ruling works its way through the appeals court system.
The former president has repeatedly attacked James, Engroron and the hefty judgment while speaking to reporters and on his Truth Social online platform.
With Post wires
