Those of us with the good sense and patriotism to cheer on Donald Trump’s multiplying legal and financial problems received a minor dose of bad news today when the New York appeals court handed down a new ruling in his civil fraud case. Rather than require the full $455 million bond that he owes, the court has decided that it'll settle for a $175 billion bond, a far more doable if still colossal sum.
Trump now has ten days to secure the reduced bond. The court has also paused some of the more onerous restrictions put in place by Judge Arthur Engoron, including the prohibitions on Trump running any New York-based companies or receiving loans from New York banks. The same prohibitions have also been temporarily lifted from his sons Eric and Don Jr.
Crucially, the court has decided to leave the independent monitor, Barbara Jones, in place. She is responsible for overseeing Trump’s business finances to ensure that he doesn’t slip right back into his habitually fraudulent practices. In other words, it appears that the court is somewhat perplexingly willing to grant him unreasonably favorable concessions due to his status as a former president, while still tacitly acknowledging that they're dealing with a career criminal.
Ultimately though, the court’s ruling is a MAGA victory so minor as to barely deserve the description. It does not mean that Trump is off the hook for the $455 million, it just means that he doesn’t have to produce the entire sum while he goes through the appeals process. In the end, it’s entirely possible and even likely that the verdict will be upheld and he’ll be forced to pay the amount in full. All this ruling really does is buy him some time.
For now, if Trump wants to prevent New York Attorney General Letitia James from seizing his properties in the immediate future — as she has already indicated a willingness to do — he’ll have to come up with the $175 million, which is in itself no mean feat.
Already, the bond-seeking process has proven to be a humiliating, never-ending ordeal for Trump. When he was trying to secure the larger amount he approached and was promptly rejected by at least thirty different bond companies. Given how much this man brags about his fabulous wealth, these companies should be lining up to underwrite him. Their decision not to do so suggests that they simply don’t believe he’s worth the investment.
One possible explanation for Trump’s bond woes could be that his wealth is entirely tied up in heavily leveraged real estate. If he weren’t already heavily leveraged, he’d be able to easily secure a bond against the value of his properties — which he claims are worth close to $2 billion. His failure to pursue this incredibly simple solution speaks volumes.
In the end, these courtroom decisions are worth following because of what they tell us about Trump and our legal system but utterly irrelevant when it comes to deciding our plan of attack. The courts are not going to defeat Donald Trump for us. The only way to do that is to show up in November and vote Democratic so overwhelmingly that the MAGA movement is consigned to the dustbin of history. Courts, banks, and bond companies can’t save America. Only we can do that.
The "Don't Be A Mitch" campaign is back after a hugely successful 2022 cycle, having raised $1.2 million for voter registration groups ahead of the midterm elections. This year, with a tough Senate map, we have no room for error. I put together a list of organizations from 5 key states (Montana, Ohio, Arizona, Wisconsin, and Missouri) that I think are best situated to ensure that the Senate stays in Democrats' hands. Any amount helps!
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