Attorney General of New York Letitia James asked a judge Friday to revoke former President Donald Trump’s bail in his civil fraud case, questioning whether the company that issued it had the funds to guarantee it.
In a 26-page filing ahead of a hearing scheduled for Monday, James expressed concern about whether Knight Specialty Insurance Company could secure the $175 million bond. She also argued that the guarantees provided by the former president should be under the full control of the company.
One of James’ concerns about KSIC is that the insurer “is not licensed to do business in New York and therefore is not regulated by the state’s Department of Insurance.” She added that the company “had never issued a bond in New York or in the previous two years in any other jurisdiction, and had a total policyholder surplus of only $138 million.”
James also criticized the Trump team’s apparent hold on the collateral provided to secure the bond.
“KSIC does not now have the exclusive right to control the account and will not obtain such control unless and until it exercises that right. with two days’ notice,” she wrote.
Neither Trump’s lawyers nor KSIC immediately responded to a request for comment.
Trump’s lawyer, Alina Habba, previously said when releasing the former president’s bond that he “looks forward to asserting his rights on appeal and overturning this unjust verdict.”
The new filing comes after James filed a notice earlier this month requesting more information about the former president’s bail. In that filing, she requested that Trump’s lawyers or the insurance company “file a motion to substantiate the bond” or provide additional information about the bond provided by Trump within 10 days.
Bail for Trump and his co-defendants was reduced by a state appeals court to $175 million in March, from $464 million. Trump was responsible for $454 million, the vast majority of the original sum. The former president has repeatedly criticized the accusations against him and denied any wrongdoing.
James’ filing comes as Trump was in the courtroom for his hush money criminal case in New York, where he faces 34 counts of falsifying business records and a judge in The state appeals court denied Trump’s request for an emergency stay of the trial. A jury has been impaneled in this case and proceedings are expected to begin on Monday. Trump has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
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