Judge rejects temporary pause in enforcement of Trump civil fraud penalties

A New York appellate division judge ruled Wednesday that multimillion-dollar penalties imposed on former President Trump in his civil fraud case will not be paused while he appeals the judgment; however, for now, Trump can apply for loans.  

Justice Anil Singh temporarily denied the former president’s request to stay the enforcement of the more than $454 million in penalties a different New York judge ordered him to pay for conspiring to alter his net worth to receive tax and insurance benefits.  

Trump had offered to post a $100 million bond while the appeals process plays out, writing in court filings that the staggering judgment made it “impossible” to secure a bond covering the full amount. Posting a bond in the full amount would automatically halt enforcement of the penalties.  

However, Singh did grant a temporary pause on two other elements of Judge Arthur Engoron’s ruling earlier this month: that Trump and his co-defendants can’t serve in top leadership positions in any New York business, and that the defendants cannot apply for loans from any New York financial institution. 

Trump’s lawyers raised concerns earlier Wednesday that Engoron’s ruling could preclude them from seeking a surety bond for the full judgment amount. Otherwise, Trump would have had to come up with the cash himself — a feat that might have required selling properties or other assets.  

“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,” Trump’s lawyers wrote in a nearly 1,800-page court filing. 

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Lawyers with New York Attorney General Letitia James’s (D) office argued earlier Wednesday that there was “no merit” to defense arguments that a full bond is unnecessary.  James (D) has said she would seize some of Trump’s assets if he’s not able to cover the cost of the judgment.

“Defendants all but concede that Mr. Trump has insufficient liquid assets to satisfy the judgment; defendants would need ‘to raise capital’ to do so,” state lawyer Dennis Fan wrote. 

Singh’s ruling is only temporary, until Trump’s motion to put a pause on paying up goes before a full panel of New York 1st Judicial Department Appellate Division justices.