The New York judge who imposed a $454 million judgment against Donald Trump in his fraud trial ordered the Republican presumptive presidential nominee to inform the court of any attempt to secure a bond ahead of Monday's deadline.
Judge Arthur Engoron in his order, filed in Manhattan Supreme Court, said the Trump Organization needs to provide details on any attempt to secure a bond to the court-appointed monitor, former federal Judge Barbara Jones.
"The Trump Organization shall inform the Monitor, in advance, of any efforts to secure surety bonds," Engoron said in his order, as well as "any personal guarantees made by any of the Defendants," according to NBC News.
It's unclear why Engoron made the ruling so close to Monday's deadline. But it comes as Trump's lawyers pressed an appellate court on Thursday to excuse him from covering the fine before his appeal, claiming he'd suffer "irreparable harm" before the appeal is decided.
Further, Trump's lawyers have claimed in a filing that securing a bond on the full amount is "a practical impossibility." They wrote more than 30 surety companies won't accept real estate as collateral.
Trump earlier Thursday took to social media to rail against Engoron putting him in the "impossible" situation of either losing assets or hundreds of millions of dollars.
"If I sold assets, and then won the Appeal, the assets would be forever gone. Also, putting up money before an Appeal is VERY EXPENSIVE. When I win the Appeal, all of that money is gone, and I would have done nothing wrong," Trump said in a Truth Social post. "He gave us a demand which he knows is impossible to do."
New York Attorney General Letitia James took the preliminary step toward asset seizures, with an official notification of the civil judgment against Trump in Westchester County, New York, where Trump owns property.
Engoron's order also said Trump must disclose any transfers of $5 million or more "to any individual defendant."
"Defendants shall not evade the terms of the Monitorship Order by transferring assets, reincorporating existing business entities in other forms or jurisdictions, modifying entity ownership, or any other form of restructuring or change in corporate form," the order said.
Mark Swanson ✉
Mark Swanson, a Newsmax writer and editor, has nearly three decades of experience covering news, culture and politics.
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