- Donald Trump posted $175 million bail following an appeals court’s ruling in his New York civil fraud case.
- In total, Trump and three top Trump Organization executives owe New York nearly half a billion dollars.
- But they will only have to pay the full amount if they lose their appeal.
Donald Trump posted a $175 million appeal bond Monday in his New York civil fraud case, an amount that reflects the large reduction a Manhattan appeals court granted him last week on the half a billion dollars that he and his company actually owe the state.
The former president secured bail Monday through Knight Specialty Insurance Company, a Los Angeles surety company.
Knight Insurance released a certification that it provided Trump’s bond.
Last month, Trump and executives of the Trump Organization were ordered to pay $454 million plus interest in a civil fraud trial in New York after Judge Arthur Engoron ruled that they conspired to inflate the value of their assets.
With interest amounting to $112,000 per day, that sum has since grown to a whopping $469 million. Trump is personally responsible for about $458 million of that sum as of Monday.
But Trump found himself facing a budget lifeline a week ago — the deadline to post bond for the nearly half-billion-dollar judgment — when an appeals court ruled that posting a bond of just $175 million of what he owed would be enough.
The bond sets the money aside — untouchable by either Trump or state officials — while he appeals the case. Whoever wins the appeal will keep the money.
“This monumental decision reigns in Judge Engoron’s verdict, which is an affront to all Americans,” Trump lawyer Alina Habba wrote in a statement following Monday’s appeal ruling.
“This is the first important step in the fight against Letitia James and her targeted witch hunt against my client, which began before she even took office,” the lawyer said, referring to the state attorney general.
James’ office opposed lowering the bail amount, arguing that if Trump lost his appeal, state officials would have to sue him to recover the money he owes.
Trump’s lawyers have been strategizing in trying to delay his trials, and it’s unclear how long the appeals process will take.
But under Monday’s ruling, arguments in the first level appeal can be heard no earlier than September.
Given that schedule, it’s unlikely his appeals will be exhausted — and James will receive any money — by Election Day, experts told Business Insider.
With interest piling up every day, he’s betting big on winning the appeal.
If Trump loses his appeal, he and his associates will then owe the remaining amount, plus interest.
A Trump spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment from BI.
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