Trump posts bond in New York civil fraud case; judge expands gag order in hush money case

Donald Trump has posted the required $175 million bond in the fraud case brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James. Trump was required to post the bond or make a cash payment in order to secure the judgment against him in the case. Trump can now go ahead and file an appeal of the verdict that found him, his companies, his children Eric and Donald Jr., and others guilty of falsifying business records and inflating the values of properties.

Trump’s posting of the bond prevents James from seizing assets to secure the judgment. She had filed paperwork with the Westchester County Clerk’s Office to prepare for the possibility of seizing Trump property in Westchester.

The bond is underwritten by Knight Specialty Insurance, an insurance company based in California. The court document did not identify the collateral that Trump used to secure the bond.

The amount of the bond Trump would have to post was lowered by a state appeals court from $464 million. The court did not explain why it lowered the amount.

In a statement, Trump Attorney Alina Habba said, “As promised, President Trump has posted bond. He looks forward to vindicating his rights on appeal and overturning this unjust verdict.”

In a post on his internet site Truth Social today, Trump confirmed that he posted the bond and called the case brought against him a “travesty of a case.”

Late yesterday, Judge Juan Merchan, who is presiding in Trump’s criminal trial in Manhattan for making a hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels expanded the gag order he had issued against Trump. Merchan’s action came after Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg asked the court to take the action because Trump was attacking family members of court officials involved in the case. Trump over the weekend posted an attack on Merchan’s daughter. Trump used her name in the post.

Merchan wrote in issuing the expanded gag order, “The average observer must now, after hearing defendant’s recent attacks, draw the conclusion that if they become involved in these proceedings, even tangentially, they should worry not only for themselves, but for their loved ones as well. Such concerns will undoubtedly interfere with the fair administration of justice and constitutes a direct attack on the Rule of Law itself.”

Merchan continued, “It is no longer just a mere possibility or a reasonable likelihood that there exists a threat to the integrity of the judicial proceedings. The threat is very real. Admonitions are not enough, nor is reliance on self-restraint.”

Merchan expanded an existing gag order against Trump that did not cover the families of Merchan nor Bragg. Judge Merchan and Bragg themselves are not covered by the gag order and Trump still is allowed to comment about them.