(TheLastPatriotNews.com) – In what legal experts are calling a victory, Donald Trump’s legal representatives reached an agreement with state prosecutors on Monday to secure the substantial $175 million bond during the appeal process of his $454 million civil fraud case, a development which occurred simultaneously as his criminal trial commenced nearby.
New York State Attorney General Letitia James disclosed that Trump’s legal team consented to keep the bond in “a lockbox” while the former president challenges a significant $454 million judgment rendered by Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron last month.
James expressed concern that Trump had control over the funds, secured by Knight Specialty Insurance Company—a firm owned by billionaire and Trump supporter Don Hankey.
She noted that the former president might have earned interest on the funds while his appeal of Engoron’s decision is pending.
The agreement stipulates that the bond will remain in cash form and cannot be converted into mutual funds or other financial products, as stated by the prosecutors.
Knight Specialty will manage the funds exclusively and will provide monthly financial statements.
On the same day, Trump spoke to the media outside the criminal trial courtroom, defending the arrangement of the bond.
“We put up cash and the number is 175. [James] shouldn’t be complaining about the bonding company. The bonding company would be good for it because I put up the money. I have plenty of money to put up,” the former president stated.
Hankey also previously defended the bond.
“We thought it would be an easy procedure that wouldn’t involve other legal problems and it’s not turning out that way. We probably didn’t charge enough,” he said.
Trump’s attorney, Alina Habba, criticized James outside the courtroom for doubting the bond’s legitimacy, humorously remarking to journalists that the money “isn’t green enough” for the NY attorney general.
“We wasted time. The judge said he thought money market accounts go down under the amount — he doesn’t understand basic principles of finance,” Habba said.
“The attorney general and that judge realized quickly that they had no idea what they were talking about. We came to an agreement that everything would be the same, we would modify terms, and that was it. This is where your taxpayer dollars are going, America. Right here: witch hunt after witch hunt,” she elaborated.
“Despite another flawed and desperate protest by the Attorney General, President Trump is pleased the Court determined the $175 million he posted in cash is worth $175 million, and the bond form in use in the New York court system for a century is in fact acceptable,” Trump lawyer Christopher Kise later said in a statement.
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