Former U.S. President Donald Trump delivers a speech after leaving the courtroom while attending his Manhattan court trial in a civil fraud case on October 18, 2023 in New York.
Brendan McDermid | Reuters
Donald Trump claimed Friday he has nearly half a billion dollars in cash – after his lawyers said he didn’t have enough money to post bail in his $464 million civil fraud case.
The apparent contradiction could be serious: Trump has just days left to secure an appeal guarantee that would stop New York Attorney General Letitia James from starting to collect the massive judgment.
“Through hard work, talent and luck, I currently have nearly five hundred million dollars in cash, a significant amount of which I planned to use for my presidential campaign,” Trump wrote in a large-format post on Truth Social on Friday morning.
He also claimed that the judge who handed down the fraud verdict prevented him from spending his money on his presidential campaign.
This was the first time Trump said he would spend his own money to finance his presidential campaign. So far, Trump has not committed any money to his current bid for the White House. He did not donate any of his own money to his 2020 campaign, according to NBC News.
Whatever the case, Trump’s claim in Friday’s posts – that he has the money to pay the bail but that he is saving it to finance his presidential campaign – is not something his lawyers have told the judges appeal court, which is examining his application to suspend the fraud verdict.
His lawyers claimed on Monday that it was “impossible” for him to get bail because he did not have the money to obtain one and because no potential insurers will accept Trump’s properties instead.
James has said she will seize Trump’s real estate assets if he can’t pay. Her office has already begun preparing for action in Westchester County, where Trump owns several properties.
New York Attorney General Letitia James has taken the first step to seize former President Donald Trump’s property in the state following a landmark $454 million judgment on March 21, 2024 in New York, USA.
Lokman Vural Elibol | Anatolia | Getty Images
Trump asked a New York appeals court to stay the verdict without requiring him to post bail for the full amount.
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Trump Organization attorney Alan Garten wrote that the only way for Trump and his co-defendants to obtain an appeal bond would be to post his property as collateral.
Garten said they asked more than 30 surety companies to underwrite the bond, but every one of them said no.
Trump’s lawyers argued that the Trumps, although wealthy, were in the real estate business and therefore real estate rich. As a result, they would have to sell or mortgage their properties to secure the bond, “causing irreparable harm.”
Garden and Trump Organization spokespersons did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment on Trump’s social media posts.
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2024-03-22 17:20:54
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