Appeals court allows Donald Trump to post a smaller bond, will he be able to secure the $175 million?

Donald Trump is on the hook for almost half a billion dollars after being found guilty in a civil court for financial fraud. However, the amount he must pay in the coming days has been reduced from $464 million to $175 million.

The former president posted to Truth Social that he would be paying the smaller amount but attacked both the judge in the case, Arthur Engoron, and the New York Attorney General Letitia James, who was responsible for leading the investigation that uncovered decades of corrupt business practices.

AG James made clear that the smaller payment that Trump will be allowed to pay is not going to replace the larger one. “The $464 million judgment – plus interest – against Donald Trump and the other defendants still stands,” said James.

Trump’s liquidity issue

Much of the former president’s wealth is not liquid and instead represented by his assets, including companies and properties. If Trump is unable to pay, New York state, through the AG’s office, could begin to seize these assets. Such a process would be long, but the first steps have already been taken, with AG James filing a judgment in New York City where Trump various high-value properties, including Trump Tower and a hotel that overlooks Central Park. However, the fact that all of these properties and the more than three hundred around the world are owned by Trump’s trust and not himself will make it harder for them to be immediately seized. The good news for Trump is that dragging out those legal battles will give him more time, but the longer he waits the greater the interest will be on the payments that he is avoiding.