Former President Trump is facing a Monday deadline to pay
a nearly half billion dollar bond.
New York Attorney General Letitia James is challenging his claim
that he can't secure the bond,
urging the court to ignore his request to lower the
amount.
Senior investigative correspondent Eric Katersky has the latest on that
story.
New York Attorney General Letitia James is urging an appeals
court to ignore Donald Trump's claim that securing a bond
is a practical impossibility.
His lawyer said Trump is facing insurmountable difficulties in obtaining
a bond to guarantee he can pay if he loses
his appeal of a nearly half billion dollar civil fraud
judgment. They said more than 30 insurance companies turned him
down and they asked for court permission to post a
smaller bond or none at all.
There's a critical deadline if Trump fails to secure some
kind of financial guarantee.
By Monday, James can begin to drain his bank accounts
and seize his real estate.
You're prepared to have the state move to seize Trump's
assets?
We are prepared to make sure that the judgment is
paid to New Yorkers.
The attorney general balked at allowing Trump to forego posting
a full bond.
She suggested he could try dividing the bond amount among
multiple sureties or even turning over his properties for the
court to hold his collateral,
like his gold plated penthouse in Trump Tower,
which he showed off to Barbara Walters in 2015.
I'm looking around. Yeah, there's a lot.
I think there's a lot of gold
here. Done pretty well, right?
And senior investigative correspondent Erica Tursky joins me now for
more,
Aaron, what's at stake for former President Trump if he
can't secure this bond?
Well, you heard the attorney general herself say that she
is prepared to move to try to freeze bank accounts,
seize buildings like the one behind me here on Wall
Street.
Diane, it's not like they're going to padlock Trump Tower
or this building or any of Trump's properties.
But the attorney General's office can take legal steps like
liens and foreclosures to make sure they're satisfied Trump can
pay what the judge said he owes the state for
a decade's worth of business fraud.
That Trump's campaign is fundraising off of this whole bond
dispute.
How could this impact him on the campaign trail?
Well, he's trying to make it work for him,
as he does all of his legal troubles to make
it a centerpiece for his campaign.
Look how they're trying to get me.
They're trying to take me,
take my properties. They're trying to make me sell my
properties at a fire sale,
which he said would be inappropriate because he couldn't get
the buildings back if he sells them and his appeal
ends up being successful.
But it also does threaten the image that Trump has
cultivated for decades as a successful business tycoon.
Now he's saying he doesn't have the money to pay
his bill.
So, Aaron, what are the next steps as this Monday
deadline approaches?
Well, we'll see if the appeals court takes any action
to give Trump any kind of a reprieve.
He's saying, let me pay a smaller bond,
about a 1/4 of the judgment.
Let me pay no bond at all.
And just, you know, know I'm good for it because
I have so many pricey assets and the attorney general's
office clearly opposes that.
Absent that, if Trump cannot find some kind of financial
guarantee by Monday,
I would expect that the Attorney General's office would begin
to tell the court how they want to proceed to
try and start taking possession of some of Trump's properties.
And and that's not going to be quick.
No padlocks. No stickers on the doors,
Diane. But it could begin a slow process of forcing
Trump to surrender the empire that he's built.
And Aaron, all that fundraising on the campaign trail.
What are the limitations on how that money can be
used when it comes to his legal disputes,
right? We know that last year,
for example, he used $50 million
in money that was raised through donors
on legal bills. He can pay off lawyers,
but he cannot use campaign money to satisfy civil court
judgments.
And that's why he had to get a separate bond
for the E Jean Carroll case,
which he was able to do.
But here he is trying to come up with enough
cash to secure a bond because he says more than
30 insurance companies have refused to take his real estate
as collateral. And. And it's lawyers are saying he just
doesn't have any other options.
All right. Senior Investigative Correspondent Erin Couture Ski Aaron,
thank you.