Trump says $175 million bail is financially secure, asks judge to reject New York attorney general’s challenge

Lawyers for former President Donald Trump said his $175 million bond posted to satisfy the judgment in the New York civil fraud case was financially sound, and they asked the judge to overturn the challenge to bail by the Attorney General and to award him costs and fees.

In a court filing Monday evening, Trump said the bond guaranteed by Knight Specialty Insurance Company was backed by Trump’s Charles Schwab account with more than $175 million in cash. Knight Specialty can take control of the Schwab account and is fully backed by its parent company to assume any risk, one of Trump’s filings states.

“The DJT Trust has granted KSIC a security interest in a Schwab brokerage account, in which the DJT Trust is required to maintain at all times not less than $175 million in cash or cash equivalents,” according to an assertion filed with the The endorsement of the bond by Gregory Serio, former New York State Superintendent of Insurance and partner at Park Strategies, a government consulting firm.

“KSIC also has a standing agreement with its parent company, Knight Insurance Company, Ltd. (“KIC”), whereby KIC reinsures 100% of KSIC’s risk,” the assertion states. “The $175 million bond in question is adequately secured.”

Earlier this month, the attorney general’s office challenged the underwriter’s financial ability to replace the bond. Judge Arthur Engoron has scheduled a hearing for next week.

Trump’s lawyers argued that no hearing was necessary.

“The documentary evidence supporting the justification is overwhelming and obviates any need for a hearing to vacate the exception or to justify KSIC as a surety,” Trump’s lawyers wrote in a court filing.

The attorney general’s office questioned whether Knight Specialty was licensed to underwrite a surety bond in New York state and whether it lacked a certificate from the state regulator that it was qualified.

Trump’s lawyers said a certificate was not the only proof of financial well-being.

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