NEW YORK (AP) — Days after former President Donald Trump Issued a $175 million bond New York State immediately prevented a large collection Civil Fraud JudgmentState prosecutors on Thursday called for more information about the bond's authenticity.
State Attorney General Letitia James' office filed documents giving Trump's lawyers, or bond contractors, 10 days to “justify” the bond — essentially, to show the company can make good on it. That means revealing more about the collateral provided by Trump.
The hearing was scheduled for April 22.
One of Trump's lawyers, Christopher Kiss, said after the appeals court last month that James was trying to stir up “a baseless public fight in a desperate attempt to regain contact.” significantly reduced in size of bond required to stop collection.
“Another witch hunt!” Kiss wrote in an email.
A message seeking comment was sent to the underwriter, Knight Specialty Insurance.
bindingThe release on Monday temporarily halted the state from seizing Trump's assets to satisfy more than $454 million he owes after losing a lawsuit. caseBrought in by a Democratic attorney general, Trump is accused of defrauding bankers and insurers by lying about his wealth.
The former president and Republican presidential candidate denies the claims and is appealing the ruling.
By posting the bond, Trump aimed to stop the clock on enforcing the ruling during his appeal. But it was not entirely smooth sailing.
First, the court system on Monday withdrew filings for additional documents, including Knight Specialty Insurance's financial statements. In its filing Thursday, the company has more than $539 million in assets and is owned by related reinsurer Knight Insurance Co. Ltd shows more than $2.1 billion.
James' office then filed a notice saying it would “take an exception to the sufficiency” of the bond — judgment winners can, under certain circumstances, obtain additional information from out-of-state underwriters.
Knight Specialty Insurance is a Wilmington, Delaware-based division of Los Angeles-based Knight Insurance Group.
The Attorney General's notice did not request specific information. But “justification” usually means proving that the underwriter is financially sound and can pay the bond amount if the judgment is upheld.
A state appellate court also held, in an unrelated case, that a bond must be shown to be “sufficiently secured by identifiable assets.”
Knight Insurance Group President Dan Hankey told The Associated Press on Monday that cash and bonds were used as collateral for Trump's appeal bond.
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Associated Press writers in New York, Michael R. Sisak and Brian Zlotysko in Washington contributed.
