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Trump unable to post $450M bond in New York fraud case, his lawyers say

Former President Donald Trump speaks during a "Get Out The Vote" rally at the Forum River Center in Rome, Ga., on March 9.
Bloomberg via Getty Images
Former President Donald Trump speaks during a "Get Out The Vote" rally at the Forum River Center in Rome, Ga., on March 9.

Lawyers for former president and presumptive GOP nominee Donald Trump say coming up with the bond on roughly half a billion dollars while he appeals his New York fraud judgment is a "practical impossibility."

Trump's lawyers say they've approached 30 companies through four brokers and none will accept his real estate holdings as a guarantee on the bond for $454 million and argue the judgment is unconstitutionally high. They filed an affidavit from an insurance broker saying it is "not possible" to find a bond that big. The broker was an expert witness for Trump during the trial.

The trial judge already noted in his decision that this broker was a "close personal friend" of Trump's and had a financial interest in the outcome. A decision could come from the appeals court later this week.

Trump is on the hook for "persistently lying about the value of his assets" in a case brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James in 2022. Trump is seeking a reprieve from an appellate court to keep New York from seizing assets.

Copyright 2024 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Andrea Bernstein
[Copyright 2024 NPR]