Trump says it’s impossible to post appeal bond for his $464m fraud judgment

Donald Trump has failed to secure a bond to satisfy the nearly half a billion dollar civil fraud judgment against him, his lawyers told an appeals court on Monday.

The former president’s attorneys argued that finding a company to back a bond in excess of $454m plus millions of dollars in interest is a “practical impossibility,” and one that raises the possibility that New York Attorney General Letitia James can being seizing his assets unless the court intervenes.

Mr Trump faces “insurmountable difficulties” securing a bond, according to his attorneys. The former president has approached “about 30 surety companies through four separate brokers” to no avail – one week before Ms James can begin collecting.

“Critical among these challenges is not just the inability and reluctance of the vast majority of sureties to underwrite a bond for this unprecedented sum, but, even more significantly, the unwillingness of every surety bond provider approached by defendants to accept real estate as collateral,” they wrote.

Those companies “will only accept cash or cash equivalents,” such as marketable securities, and typically would “require collateral of approximately 120 per cent of the amount of the judgment,” which in this case comes to nearly $560m.

Sureties would then likely charge bond premiums of approximately 2 per cent per year “with two years in advance – an upfront cost over $18m,” according to Mr Trump’s attorneys.

That money would not be recoverable, even in the event that Mr Trump wins his appeal.

Mr Trump, his adult sons, two former Trump Organization executives and the entities associated with the brand-building properties in the Trump real estate empire were ordered to pay more than $464m at the conclusion of a