After Bail Settlement, Trump Lawyer Alina Habba Says civil Fraud Hearing ‘wasted time and money’

Donald Trump‘s legal team and the New York Attorney General’s Office have been discussing the $175 million bond in his civil fraud ruling for weeks. They have now agreed that a California-based company can back the bond, as long as the collateral remains in cash and there are other conditions to be met.

Attorneys for Mr. Trump, including Alina Habba, and lawyers for Letitia James’s office had a court hearing on Monday about a bond dispute. The hearing took place about 500 feet away from the Manhattan courtroom where opening arguments started for Mr. Trump’s first criminal trial.

After the hearing, Ms. Habba was very angry and felt that it was a waste of time and taxpayer money. She accused Ms. James of making unnecessary complaints about the bond and tried to compare it to his criminal case.

“It is disgraceful that we have two courts, one for criminal cases and one for civil cases, being used against one man because they cannot defeat him in the polls,” she said, expressing her disappointment with the American judicial system.

“Ms. James wanted to argue and say that our money isn’t acceptable because it’s not the right shade of green.” This is where your tax dollars are being spent in America, right here, on multiple investigations that are seen as unfair and unjust.

Ms. Habba, who went to criminal court with Mr. Trump after the bond hearing, repeated what the former president said, stating that “he shouldn’t even be here today because he didn’t do anything wrong.”

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The argument about the fraud bond focused on the underwriter, Knight Specialty Insurance Company (KSIC), which is a company based in California. KSIC provided Mr. Trump with a last-minute solution. The company is a member of the Knight Insurance Group, which is led by billionaire Don Hankey.

Ms James’s office expressed concerns about the bond’s details. They believe that the company should have complete control over the collateral provided by Mr. Trump. Additionally, they stated that KSIC is not authorized to conduct business in New York.

KSCI disagreed and argued in a filing that they could do so because the money was secured in a Charles Schwab account pledged to them.

During a short hearing on Monday, lawyers representing Mr. Trump and Ms. James’s office reached an agreement. The agreement states that the $175 million collateral will remain in cash and be under the control of KSCI. Additionally, KSCI will appoint an agent to accept legal services on their behalf in New York.

Justice Arthur Engoron, who was in charge of the hearing and the civil fraud trial, decided that the bond could remain valid with the new conditions.

“Ms. James wanted to argue and say that she doesn’t think our cash is good enough.” “We spent time unnecessarily,” Ms. Habba said. “We agreed that everything would stay the same, but we would make some changes to the terms.” That’s where your taxpayer dollars are going, America. Right here, there are ongoing investigations that some people believe are unnecessary and unfair.

The bond in the civil fraud case ruling has made significant progress since Justice Engoron’s order in February. Mr. Trump was instructed to pay $354 million plus interest after his civil fraud trial.

Justice Engoron determined that Mr. Trump, his adult sons, and former executives of the Trump Organization were responsible for deceiving investors and banks in order to obtain more favorable conditions.

Mr. Trump wanted to challenge the ruling, but he couldn’t do it without paying a very large amount of money as a bond.

Mr. Trump looked for different companies to assist him in paying the bond, which had increased to $464 million by March. He then asked a New York appellate court to lower the bond amount.

The court ruled in his favor by giving him an extra 10 days and reducing the amount to $175 million. The details of the new agreement should be completed by Friday.