Former President Donald Trump has once again made false claims regarding the appeal process in his New York civil fraud case, asserting that he was required to post a bond before being allowed to appeal the $454 million judgment against him. Trump, who is currently the presumptive Republican presidential nominee for the 2024 election, has also incorrectly stated that Judge Arthur Engoron's requirement to post a bond during the appeal process was unusual and unprecedented.
In a Truth Social post on Tuesday, Trump wrote, "I had to pay New York State in order to appeal a corrupt decision by a biased, crooked and highly overturned judge. It's supposed to be the other way around - you appeal before you pay. Is a crooked New York Judge allowed to make you pay for the 'privilege' of appealing a wrongful & corrupt decision??? NOT IN AMERICA!!!"
However, these claims are entirely untrue. Trump was not required to post a bond in order to appeal Engoron's ruling; in fact, he had already begun the appeal process in February, more than a month before posting the bond. The requirement to post a bond to prevent collection during the appeal process is not an unusual or unprecedented demand created by Engoron, but rather a standard procedure set out by New York state law and regularly applied in civil cases throughout the state.
Mitchell Epner, a former federal prosecutor who now works as a litigator in private practice in New York, told CNN in March that the rules being applied to Trump "are applied every day in New York courts, on verdicts of all sizes." He added, "Donald Trump is either horribly misinformed or lying."
Furthermore, there is no evidence to support Trump's repeated claims that Engoron is "crooked" or "corrupt." The lawsuit, brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James, accused Trump and members of his family of financial fraud, including inflated net worth and false entries in business records.
Under New York law for civil cases, it is standard practice to require the posting of a bond (or cash) in the full amount of a judgment in order to secure a stay that prevents collection during the appeal process. In March, after Trump's lawyers informed a New York appeals court that it was impossible to secure a bond for more than $450 million, the court decided to reduce the required amount to $175 million, which Trump posted on Monday.
Epner noted that the reduction of the bond amount was "highly unusual," though not unprecedented. If Trump had not posted the bond and if Attorney General James had collected on the judgment, only for Trump to eventually win the case on appeal, James would have been required to return any collected money to Trump, along with interest.
Trump's false claims about the appeal process in the New York fraud case are not new. In March, he made similar assertions, claiming that Engoron wanted him to pay a "ridiculous fine" before being given a chance to appeal, which Trump described as "a first."
As the 2024 presidential race heats up, Trump's ongoing legal battles, including the New York civil fraud case, are likely to remain in the spotlight. The former president's repeated false claims about the legal proceedings against him underscore the importance of fact-checking and accurate reporting in the face of misinformation and political rhetoric.
