A few days ago, Donald Trump was fuming on his social network. The state of anger is something common in the former president, but on this occasion he faced an existential moment that could leave him naked (like the king in the story), show that he was bluffing and reveal that he is not the great businessman that he has pretended to be all his life. .
The bell saved him. He will not be made a fool of by his bases nor will he have to resort to the bankruptcy law. The New York appeals court indicated that it should not enforce the bail equivalent to 454 million that federal judge Arthur Engoron imposed on him when he defrauded the banks with the presentation of false valuations of their assets to obtain loans on better conditions.
Now the former president will only have to guarantee 175 million to have the ability to appeal the sentence handed down in Manhattan, at the request of the Attorney General of the state of New York, Letitia James.
On Monday at midnight, the deadline to pay bail for the equivalent of 454 million imposed by the federal judge in New York expired. His lawyers argued last week that none of the more than twenty companies and financial entities that were required to provide collateral for the conviction had responded positively. So Trump did not have the capacity to guarantee those 454 million. “It is practically impossible to obtain that bail,” his lawyers said.
Now, the court has given him ten more days to address that need. Faced with the possible ridicule for a man who proclaims himself a billionaire, the former president replied that he had more than 500 million in cash, without providing any evidence.
Trump, who was in the judicial building in lower Manhattan, at a hearing to determine the date of the criminal trial for the bribery of porn actress Stormy Daniels, did not suppress a gesture of relief upon learning the news of the civil matter. “We have achieved what we wanted,” he assured.
“This is the fifth time that a decision by Judge Engoron in this case has been reviewed,” Trump said in a statement. “His credibility, and that of Letitia James, have been destroyed,” he indicated in his manipulative style. In reality, the appeal court did not review Judge Engoron’s ruling and only established a framework for responding to the court ruling.
“We will comply with the decision of the appeals division and post bail in an equivalent value or cash,” he promised in the statement. Sources around him clarified that this time he does have the money and can appeal.
A spokesperson for the state prosecutor’s office recalled that the penalty of 454 million, plus interest, is still in force, nothing has changed in this regard. “Donald Trump still faces accountability for his astonishing fraud,” he insisted in a statement. “The court has already determined that he engaged in years of fraud to falsely inflate the net value of his estate and unjustifiably enrich himself, his family and his organization.” he reiterated.
Before entering politics, Trump often played with the threat of filing for bankruptcy. This is what he did with several building developments and, above all, with the ruinous casino business in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
On more than one occasion he accepted that he played on the edge of the law. But he won the White House and changed everything. He maintains that he became president because of the brand he represented. For now, he has saved the campaign.
