Letitia James takes first steps to seize Donald Trump’s New York assets

Days after Donald Trump lost a months-long civil trial on allegations that he defrauded investors, New York Attorney General Letitia James said she was prepared to begin seizing his assets if the former president couldn’t find the cash to pay the $464m judgment against him.

Earlier this month, her office took the first step in doing just that.

State attorneys have registered the judgment from the civil fraud trial in Manhattan with the county clerk’s office in New York’s Westchester County, home to theformer president’s Seven Springs estate and his Trump National Golf Club Westchester.

The filings, dated 7 March, signal that Ms James could soon begin the process of taking possession of Mr Trump’s assets in the county if he fails to secure a bond that would block enforcement of the ruling against him.

She gave notice to the Westchester County clerk nearly two weeks before Mr Trump’s attorneys pleaded with a state appeals court to block enforcement of the half-a-billion dollar judgment against him, which is set to take effect on Monday.

This week, Mr Trump’s lawyers told a state appeals court that the Republican Party’s likely presidential nominee faces “insurmountable difficulties” securing a bond, which could require collateral totalling 120 per cent of the amount of the judgment – which in this case comes to nearly $560m. They called it a “practical impossibility”.

They have asked the court to accept a smaller bond, or none at all, to block enforcement of the judgment against Mr Trump and his co-defendants while they appeal the full ruling.

Ms James’s office has suggested that Mr Trump and his co-defendants instead seek multiple smaller bonds or hand over the property to the court, which Trump family attorney Clifford