Trump Organization Asked By Judge To Keep Court Informed Of ‘Any Efforts To Secure Surety Bonds’ In Civil Fraud Trial

A New York state judge has ordered the Trump Organization to keep the court informed about its efforts to secure a bond in an ongoing civil fraud case.

What Happened: Judge Arthur Engoron, who previously issued a $464 million judgment against Donald Trump, his company, and co-defendants, has directed the Trump Organization to provide details to a court-appointed monitor about its attempts to obtain a bond. This bond would prevent authorities from collecting on the judgment while an appeal against last month’s ruling is in progress, reported NBC News on Thursday.

The monitor, former federal Judge Barbara Jones, is expected to report regularly to Engoron. “The Trump Organization shall inform the Monitor, in advance, of any efforts to secure surety bonds,” Engoron stated in his order.

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The order comes just days before the deadline for Trump and his co-defendants to secure a bond that would halt New York Attorney General Letitia James’ office from collecting on the judgment during the appeal process.

Trump’s lawyers have stated that they have been unsuccessful in securing a bond for weeks, describing it as “a practical impossibility”. If a bond is not posted or an appeals court does not intervene by Monday, the state attorney general’s office would be free to start seizing Trump’s assets.

Why It Matters: This development follows a series of events in the ongoing civil fraud case against the Trump Organization. In February, a judge ordered Trump to pay a hefty fine of $354 million for exaggerating his net worth to secure more favorable loan terms, with Attorney General Letitia James indicating readiness to seize Trump’s assets if he fails to pay the fine.

In March, Trump suggested that he might have to conduct a ‘fire sale’ of his properties to cover a $464 million bond due next week. His appeal for an extension to post a bond was dismissed by the New York attorney-general’s office, which suggested that Trump could secure a series of smaller bonds or use his real estate assets to back a surety bond.

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