Despite a revised application, New York Attorney General Letitia James has questioned Donald Trump’s $175 million bond posting. UPI is informed by a former assistant in the attorney general’s office that there are several shortcomings in the posting.
Following the resubmission of a rectified bond by Trump’s attorneys, James’ office filed a notice of exception on Thursday. The notification questions if Knight Specialty Insurance, the underwriter, is indeed authorized to guarantee the bond in the civil fraud judgment against Trump.
A hearing on the bond issue has been scheduled for April 22 by Judge Arthur Engoron of the New York Supreme Court.
According to the application, Knight Specialty Insurance does not have a New York insurance license, which means it does not fulfill a necessary condition for posting a bond in the state.
Adam Pollock, managing partner of the New York legal firm Pollock Cohen LLP, claims that this is not the bond’s sole problem. Up until 2017, Pollock held the position of assistant attorney general in the United States.
“This bond is further financial chicanery in a trial about financial chicanery,” Pollock stated. “This judge is going to have little patience for a flawed bond.”
According to Pollock, the need that a bond be created by an insurer licensed in New York is encoded twice in the state’s statute. The New York Department of Financial Services has awarded this license.
The financial statement, which was absent from the first bond filing, must additionally show that the insurer has excess capital equal to at least ten times the bond amount. That $1.75 billion barrier applies in this instance.
The filing from Knight Specialty Insurance indicates surplus capital of $138 million. That’s not even close to the $175 million bond, much less the amount mandated by New York law.
“The state doesn’t want one insurance company writing for more insurance than it can guarantee,” Pollock stated.
A consolidated statement of all the associated firms, provided by Knight Specialty Insurance, indicated that they had a combined surplus of around $1 billion.
The insurance provider is a member of the Hankey Group, a conglomerate. The group’s chairman and CEO is the billionaire Don Hankey.
According to Pollock, the defendant is usually required to pay the judgment in full when it is rendered. Trump was not compelled to obtain the money to pay the $464 million judgment, but James gave her a 30-day grace time to do so.
Posting a bond was not a requirement for Trump to appeal the ruling. He did, however, need to provide a bond in order to get a stay of execution.
James’ claim that he can deal with numerous insurers to get the judgment in full has drawn criticism from Trump and his legal team, as has the decision’s size. The interest that Trump will accrue is non-refundable, regardless of the outcome of his appeal, they pointed out.
“This is a big appeal. There was a two month trial so there are a lot of transcripts and factual material to wade through,” Pollock stated. “I won’t be surprised if it takes longer than it typically does. If you look at the court calendar, Trump has to file the actual appeal by July 8. It will be argued in early September. If it’s standard they will have a result by the end of October.”
Trump’s assets and properties could once more be subject to seizure if his appeal is finally unsuccessful and the judgment is promptly enforced again.
