Trump May Have to Hold ‘Fire Sale’ for His Assets

Donald Trump may have to hold a “fire sale” for his assets to appeal the $454 million civil fraud judgment against him.

On Tuesday, Trump said in a Truth Social post that he would be “forced to mortgage or sell Great Assets, perhaps at Fire Sale prices” if he wants to fight the judgment in New York Attorney General Letitia James’ lawsuit against him. Her case accused him of deceiving banks and insurers by inflating his wealth on financial statements when trying to get loans and make deals.

Trump and his team have indicated they plan to appeal the February 16 judgment order from Judge Arthur Engoron. But to stop the state from enforcing the judgment while he fights it in the courts, the former president has to deposit the full amount he’s been ordered to pay, including interest, into a court account.

That has proved to be a challenge for Trump, whose legal fees continue to mount as he fights the various civil and criminal cases against him. On Monday, his attorneys told a New York appeals court that despite approaching 30 underwriters to back the bond, Trump cannot find an insurance company to underwrite a bond that would cover the judgment against him.

“The amount of the judgment, with interest, exceeds $464 million, and very few bonding companies will consider a bond of anything approaching that magnitude,” Trump’s lawyers wrote. The $464 million figure includes the disgorgement for his sons Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, both of whom were defendants in James’ fraud suit.

Trump’s team said that underwriters are seeking cash to back the bond, not properties. So Trump would have to mortgage or sell his real estate portfolio to obtain the cash he needs to find an underwriter.

Trump’s properties exceed in value the $450 million-plus judgment, Trump’s lawyers argued, but they asked the appeals court to delay the posting of the bond until his appeal of the case is over. The bond is due by the end of this month.

Trump raged against Engoron on Tuesday, accusing the judge of “trying to take my Appellate Rights away from me.”

“Nobody has ever heard of anything like this before,” he wrote on Truth Social. “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? WITCH HUNT. ELECTION INTERFERENCE!”

In another post, he said: “I shouldn’t have to put up any money, being forced by the Corrupt Judge and AG, until the end of the appeal. That’s the way system works!”

Insurance broker Gary Giulietti, who testified for Trump during the fraud trial, signed an affidavit submitted to the court Monday that said it was “a practical impossibility” for the former president to obtain the bond since none of the biggest underwriters would be comfortable accepting real estate.

Giulietti said in the affidavit that many internal policies limit underwriters from securing a bond in excess of $100 million. With fees and interest, he said, Trump would need to come up with more than $550 million.

“Over the course of my career, during which I have been directly or indirectly involved in the issuance of thousands of bonds, I have never heard of nor seen an appeal bond of this size for a private company or individual,” the insurance broker said.

“After substantial good-faith effort over the last several weeks, obtaining an appeal bond for the Judgment Amount of over $464 million is just not possible under these circumstances,” Giulietti said.