Letitia James, the New York attorney general, wrongfully objected to Donald Trump’s $175 million bond, his lawyers said in court documents.
After a court fined Trump $454 million in February over illegally inflating the value of his properties, the presumptive 2024 GOP presidential nominee had to post the bond to stop James from seizing his assets.
James objected to the $175 million bond Trump posted, arguing in court documents on April 4 that the surety for the bond, Knight Specialty Insurance Company, was not admitted to practice in New York.
On April 15, KSIC and Trump filed a large number of documents to show that Knight had the financial backing to issue the bond, and that Trump had fully supported the bond with cash.
Their joint statement, filed to Judge Arthur Engoron Monday, said KSIC’s $175 million bond was collateralized by the $175,304,075.95 Trump had placed in a Charles Schwab bank account and which was specifically pledged to KSIC.
Newsweek has contacted Trump’s attorney and James’ office for comment via email.
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In the court filing, Trump and Knight Specialty said James was wrong to claim that Knight should not be able to act as a surety.
“The New York Attorney General argues that KSIC is a ‘non-admitted carrier’ but there is simply no requirement that a surety be an ‘admitted carrier,'” lawyers for Trump and KSIC said in the filing.
The filing also said New York insurance law did not speak in terms of “admitted carriers” and “non-admitted carriers” but of “authorized insurers” and “unauthorized insurers.”
The lawyers requested that the court set aside James’ objection and force her office to pay the “costs incurred by this application.”
The filing added that KSIC “also independently maintains more than $539 million in assets and $138 million in equity and has access to more than $2 billion in assets and $1 billion in equity.”
It said KSIC, the Trump Trust and Charles Schwab bank entered into a “Pledged Asset Account Control Agreement, by which KSIC can exercise the right to control the account within two business days by submitting a letter to Schwab of its intent to activate that control.”
“Thus the $175 million bond is fully collateralized by $175 million in cash,” the filing continued.
Engoron previously found Trump, his sons Donald Jr. and Eric, and the Trump Organization liable for a scheme in which the value of Trump’s net worth and assets were unlawfully inflated to obtain more favorable business deals. Trump has maintained his innocence.
The former president received a penalty of about $454 million, after interest, and would have had to pay a bond slightly higher than that amount to stave off the state from seizing his assets, including his many real estate holdings, to cover the penalty. An appeals court later ruled that he could instead pay a lower bond of $175 million.
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