The Daily Populous Friday February 23rd, 2024 morning edition
Authored by newsweek.com and submitted by newsweek

Donald Trump has requested that the judge overseeing his New York civil fraud case delay enforcing the $355 million penalty by one month, prompting speculation the former president does not have the available cash to appeal the decision.

Judge Arthur Engoron, who oversaw the civil trial stemming from New York Attorney General Letitia James' fraud lawsuit, recently ordered Trump to pay nearly $355 million after ruling the former president filed fraudulent financial statements inflating the value of his properties and assets for years.

Engoron also ordered that Trump pay interest on the fine, pushing the amount the former president may have to pay closer to $450 million, which would completely wipe out the available cash Trump reportedly has.

Trump has denied all wrongdoing and his legal team said they would be appealing the decision and are willing to pay the $400 million in cash bond to challenge the judgment.

Republican presidential candidate, former U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a Fox News town hall at the Greenville Convention Center on February 20, 2024 in Greenville, South Carolina. Trump has indicated he does not have... Republican presidential candidate, former U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a Fox News town hall at the Greenville Convention Center on February 20, 2024 in Greenville, South Carolina. Trump has indicated he does not have the cash on hand to pay his $400 million bond. More GETTY

On Wednesday, Trump's lawyers wrote to Engoron asking the judge to delay enforcing the penalty for one month in order to allow an "orderly post-judgment process."

The dispute is regarding the timing of when a court clerk enters Engoron's final judgment, which triggers the enforcement of a penalty and a 30-day window in which Trump can pay the penalty or post a cash bond to appeal the decision.

Trump's defense lawyer Clifford Robert accused James' office of being in an "unseemingly rush" to make Engoron sign the final judgment which "violates all accepted practice" in New York state court.

"Defendants request the Court stay enforcement of that Judgment for 30 days," Robert wrote.

"Given that the court-appointed monitor continues to be in place, there is no prejudice to the Attorney General in briefly staying enforcement to allow for an orderly post-Judgment process, particularly given the magnitude of Judgment."

While sharing the delay request from Trump's legal team, Ben Meiselas, an attorney and co-founder of the liberal news website MeidasTouch, posted on X, formerly Twitter: "Translation: I don't have $400 million in cash to post a bond."

Ray Loewe, who frequently criticizes Trump in social media, added: "This could signify that Trump is having cash flow problems as payment in full or bond posting must be done in 30 days."

Trump's legal team has been contacted for comment via email.

Trump lawyer Alina Habba said: "Even if we choose to appeal this—which we will—we have to post the bond, which is the full amount and some, and we will be prepared to do that.

"What they're trying to do between this case between my last case is put [Trump] out of business. It's not going to work, number one. Number two, what they're doing is a scare tactic.

"Unfortunately, they picked the wrong guy to pick on, in my opinion, because he's strong, he's resilient and he happens to have a lot of cash."

It is unclear if Engoron will agree to delay the start of when Trump must pay the $355 million or post the cash bond to appeal.

Fellow Trump lawyer Christopher Kise previously said that the former president will appeal the judge's ruling, and told Newsweek Trump "remains confident the Appellate Division will ultimately correct the innumerable and catastrophic errors made by a trial court untethered to the law or to reality."

It has been speculated that Trump may have to sell off some of his real estate empire in order to fully pay the penalty issued to him by Engoron.

James has previously threatened to "seize" some of the former president's assets if he cannot pay the penalty.

Update 2/22/24, 3:36 a.m. ET: This article was updated with a new headline and additional information.