Ex-president’s lawyers had asked court to halt collection of rest of amount plus ban on securing new loans from New York banks
A New York appeals judge has denied Donald Trump’s request to pay just $100m of the $454m judgment for his New York fraud trial. Trump’s lawyers had asked the court to halt the collection of the rest of the amount, along with the judgment’s ban on Trump securing new loans from New York banks, until the appeal goes through. Judge Anil Singh appeared to have some sympathy for Trump, staying the ban over Trump from taking out loans from New York banks and another ban on him serving as an officer of a New York company, both for the next three years.
Trump’s lawyers, Clifford Robert, Alina Habba, and Michael Farina, wrote that the exorbitant and punitive amount of the judgment, coupled with an unlawful and unconstitutional blanket prohibition on lending transactions, would make it impossible to secure and post a complete bond. The New York attorney general’s office said the appeals court should deny Trump’s request as Trump has not said he does not have the assets to fulfil the judgment’s full amount.
Judge Arthur Engoron found that Trump, his company, and top executives, including his sons Eric and Donald Jr., schemed for years to deceive banks and insurers by inflating his wealth on financial statements used to secure loans and make deals. He was ordered to pay $355m plus interest, pushing the penalty to more than $450m at the time of the ruling. Trump filed his appeal on Monday, and his lawyers are asking the appellate division of the state’s trial court to decide whether Engoron committed errors of law and/or fact and whether he abused his discretion or acted in excess of his jurisdiction.