By Jennifer Peltz | Associated Press
NEW YORK — Days after former President Donald Trump posted $175 million bail to prevent New York state from imminently collecting a massive civil fraud judgment, lawyers for the state have requested Thursday more information on the good faith of the surety.
State Attorney General Letitia James’ office filed documents giving Trump’s lawyers or the bond underwriter 10 days to “justify” the bond — essentially, to show that the company can make it. That could mean disclosing more about the guarantees Trump provided.
A hearing has been set for April 22.
One of Trump’s lawyers, Christopher Kise, said James was trying to provoke “a baseless public feud in a desperate effort to regain relevance” after an appeals court last month dramatically reduced the amount of the security necessary to suspend recovery.
“Yet another witch hunt!” Kise wrote in an email.
A message seeking comment was left with the underwriter, Knight Specialty Insurance Co.
The bond, filed Monday, at least temporarily blocked the state from potentially seizing Trump’s assets to settle the more than $454 million he owes after losing a court case. The case, brought by the Democratic attorney general, alleged that Trump, along with his company and top executives, defrauded bankers and insurers by lying about his wealth.
The former president and presumptive Republican nominee denies the allegations and is appealing the ruling.
By posting the bond, Trump aimed to stop the judgment’s execution time during his appeal. But it hasn’t gone entirely smoothly.
First, the court system delayed the filing of additional documents filed Monday, including a financial statement from Knight Specialty Insurance. This was filed Thursday, showing the company has more than $539 million in assets and associated reinsurer Knight Insurance Co. Ltd. has more than $2.1 billion.
Then, James’ office filed a notice saying it “objects to the sufficiency” of the bond — a move judgment winners can make to get more information from underwriters outside the State, in certain circumstances.
Knight Specialty Insurance is a Wilmington, Delaware-based company that is part of the Los Angeles-based Knight Insurance Group.
The Attorney General’s opinion does not request specific information. But “show cause” generally means demonstrating that the policyholder is financially sound and capable of paying the bond amount if the judgment is upheld.
A state appeals court also ruled, in an unrelated case, that a bond must be shown to be “sufficiently secured by identifiable assets.”
Knight Insurance Group President Don Hankey told The Associated Press on Monday that cash and bonds were used as collateral for Trump’s appeal bond.
Eric Trump, the former president’s son and a top executive at his company, said in a social media post Thursday that the bond was fully collateralized by cash.
The attorney general’s objection “is just another example of the absurdity and insanity that has been the underlying theme throughout this entire affair circus,” the younger Trump wrote on old Twitter.
He and his brother, another Trump Organization executive vice president, Donald Trump Jr., were also defendants in the fraud lawsuit. They were found responsible and ordered to pay $4 million each.
In total, the judgment against Trump, his sons and the other defendants totals more than $467 million, growing every day with interest.
Associated Press writers Michael R. Sisak in New York and Brian Slodysko in Washington contributed.
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