Former President Donald Trump said he would “very quickly” post the $175 million bond to appeal the $464 million fine in New York state’s civil fraud case against him.
Trump indicated he would easily come up with the sum within the ten-day deadline set by a New York appeals court on Monday. Bloomberg News noted that before Monday’s decision, he needed to produce $545 million (120 percent of the fine) by the end of Monday to appeal Judge Arthur Engoron’s ruling – something he and his attorneys said was next to impossible.
JUST IN – Trump reacts to New York appeals court ruling:
"New York State is being battered by his decision so I greatly respect the decision of the appellate division and I'll post either $175 million in cash or bonds or security or whatever is necessary very quickly within the… pic.twitter.com/PapENsHFU4
— Insider Paper (@TheInsiderPaper) March 25, 2024
Trump began his brief minute-long statement to the press by slamming Engoron for doing “a terrible disservice to the state of New York.”
“Businesses are fleeing, and crime is flourishing all over the state, and what he’s done is such a disservice and should never be allowed to happen again,” Trump told reporters. “New York State is being battered by his decision.”
“I greatly respect the decision of the Appellate Division, and I’ll post either $175 million in cash or bond or security or whatever is necessary very quickly, within the 10 days, and I thank the appellate division for acting quickly,” he added, before calling Engoron a “disgrace to this country.”
The decision comes as Trump is positioned to get a $3.5 billion windfall as Digital World Acquisition Corp shareholders greenlit a merger with his social media platform, Truth Social, on Friday, Breitbart News’s Kristina Wong noted:
Trump will own nearly 79 million shares in the newly-merged company, which is currently around $41 per share.
The former president will not be able to cash in his stake until six months after the merger, but [Turning] Point USA’s Founder and CEO Charlie Kirk posted on X that Trump could seek a waiver to do so in order to pay the bond so he can appeal the fraud case.
Trump’s comments to the press echoed sentiments he shared on Truth Social moments earlier.
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