Trump wins lifeline in fraud case: Court cuts crippling bond demand
NEW YORK—Donald Trump was thrown a huge lifeline Monday when an appeals court slashed what could have been a crippling demand for a nearly half-billion-dollar bond payment and also gave him 10 more days to pay.
The Republican presidential candidate got the unexpectedly positive news about his New York civil fraud case while he was sitting in court for another case—a hearing in his upcoming criminal trial over paying hush money to a porn star.
Trump had been facing a Monday deadline to pay a $454-million bond pending an appeal against a judge’s decision that he is liable for fraudulently inflating his net worth.
Trump had made clear he was unable to find funds for the bond and he risked seeing New York state confiscate parts of his property empire.
With Monday’s decision, he will have 10 more days to pay just $175 million.
‘Witch hunt’Writing on his Truth Social app, Trump said he would “abide by the decision of the Appellate Division.”
When the ruling came out, he was in a Manhattan courtroom at a hearing to set a new date for his trial over payments he made to porn star Stormy Daniels to not publicize a sexual encounter.
“This is a witch hunt,” Trump told reporters before walking into court. —AFP
