Trump’s lawyers keep fighting $454M fraud appeal bond requirement

NEW YORK (AP) — Former President Donald Trump’s lawyers kept pressing an appellate court Thursday to excuse him from covering a $454 million fraud lawsuit judgment for now, saying he’d suffer “irreparable harm” before his appeal is decided.

The financial requirement is “patently unjust, unreasonable and unconstitutional,” one of the presumptive Republican presidential nominee’s lawyers, Clifford Robert, wrote in a letter to a New York appeals court.

It’s the latest in a flurry of arguments and counterarguments that Trump’s attorneys and New York state lawyers are making ahead of Monday, when state Attorney General Letitia James can start taking steps to collect the massive sum — unless the appeals court intervenes.

James, a Democrat, said last month she was prepared to seek to seize some of Trump’s assets if he can’t pay, though it wasn’t clear how quickly she had in mind. In recent weeks, her office has given various counties formal notice of the judgment against Trump, a step that could later allow the state to move to collect.

A message was sent to James’ office Thursday seeking comment on its plans.

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