(WASHINGTON) — Former President Donald Trump is continuing to rail against the $464 million judgment in his New York civil fraud case, claiming Judge Arthur Engoron is trying to take away his rights and that he could be forced to sell his properties at “fire sale prices.”
“Judge Engoron actually wants me to put up Hundreds of Millions of Dollars for the Right to Appeal his ridiculous decision,” Trump posted on his social media platform Tuesday morning. “In other words, he is trying to take my Appellate Rights away from me,” Trump said, in part.
“I would be forced to mortgage or sell Great Assets, perhaps at Fire Sale prices, and if and when I win the Appeal, they would be gone. Does that make sense?” Trump continued, in part.
Trump is facing “insurmountable difficulties” in obtaining a bond to satisfy the judgment, the former president’s attorneys said Monday in a new appellate court filing.
Last month, Trump’s lawyers asked for a stay of the enforcement and offered to instead secure a $100 million bond. New York Attorney General Letitia James pushed back on the request, arguing Trump and his co-defendants “will attempt to evade enforcement of the judgment or to make enforcement more difficult.”
“Moreover, there is significant risk that absent a full bond or deposit, defendants will attempt to evade enforcement of the judgment or to make enforcement more difficult after an appeal,” Senior Assistant Solicitor Dennis Fan said last week, arguing that Trump should pay the judgment or get a bond for the full amount.
While Trump Organization general counsel Alan Garten said Monday that Trump is “financially stable” and maintains “substantial assets,” the magnitude of the judgment would require him to use his real estate as collateral for the bond. According to the filing, more than 30 companies have declined to assist with Trump’s bond, which the former president is attempting to secure using a combination of property and cash.
In a series of posts on his social media platform Monday night, Trump claimed the bond in the New York civil fraud case judgment is “unconstitutional,” “unAmerican” and “unprecedented.”
A bond of this size is “practically impossible for ANY Company, including one as successful as mine,” Trump claimed in a series of posts on his social media platform, echoing his legal team’s arguments.
Trump’s attorneys, who have called the judgment “unconstitutionally excessive,” asked an appellate court again on Monday to allow Trump to secure a bond in a lesser amount.
“Obtaining such cash through a ‘fire sale’ of real estate holdings would inevitably result in massive, irrecoverable losses — textbook irreparable injury,” defense lawyers Alina Habba and Clifford Robert wrote.
James previously told ABC News she is prepared to seize the former president’s assets if he is unable to find the cash to cover the fine.
“If he does not have funds to pay off the judgment, then we will seek judgment enforcement mechanisms in court, and we will ask the judge to seize his assets,” James said in an exclusive interview with ABC News’ Aaron Katersky in February.
The former president has denied all wrongdoing and has said he will appeal.
ABC News’ Aaron Katersky contributed to this report.
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